A childhood deferred: endless delays and faulty equipment prevent justice for young rape victims

A trial against a police officer accused of sexually abusing a child in the Protea Magistrate’s Court has been postponed 60 times since 2018. Pictured is a victim support room in the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town. (Jenni Evans/News24)

South Africa celebrated Youth Day on June 16. But too many children in this country have had their childhood stolen from them. First at the hands of an abuser and then through the justice system, which forces them to relive their trauma over and over again. Alex Mitchell portrays three children who are currently in court as plaintiffs against men accused of raping and sexually assaulting them.

“If you could hear her praying, you would cry. She asks God to help her and says she wants to be a child and live like other children.”

But she cannot be like other children because she has spent almost half her life facing an agonizing and seemingly endless court case involving the police officer who allegedly raped her when she was just seven years old.