??As a leading expert in public procurement, anti-corruption and development law, Prof Sope Williams from Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票's (SU) Faculty of Law has dedicated her career to promoting transparency and accountability in governance. Her recent research has uncovered a disturbing trend – the pervasive problem of sexual corruption in South Africa. The topic will be in the spotlight at SU on 27 September when a documentary Rising Voices: Unmasking Sexual Corruption in South Africa will be shown followed by a discussion.
Williams, who teaches in the Department of Mercantile Law at SU, first started delving into the issue of sexual corruption when she was approached by the Open Contracting Partnership, a United States-based NGO, to examine gender-responsive procurement in South Africa. Her findings revealed that women-owned businesses often face unique challenges in accessing public contracts, including being asked for sexual acts in exchange for securing government tenders.
“Although my study involved a small sample, almost every woman business owner I spoke to have a story about sexual corruption. I was really surprised to learn this because, generally most of the women who are able to navigate procurement are women who have established businesses. They're usually educated and middle class, so they're not your typical vulnerable class of persons," Williams explains.
This eye-opening discovery led her to delve deeper into the issue. Her research soon expanded to include collaboration with Germany’s Development Cooperation Agency, GIZ, which had also begun working in this area.
“I was asked to look at the legal framework on sexual corruption in South Africa. I mapped out the legal framework against sexual corruption in South Africa, looking at the extent to which sexual corruption is criminalised and why those legal frameworks are not working. For the past three years, I've been interested in this topic and researching it in different facets in procurements and in other sectors."
Sexual corruption is seldom recognised as a distinct phenomenon within either the anti-corruption framework or the frameworks addressing gender-based violence, Williams notes. Barriers to reporting sexual corruption and obtaining effective redress further contribute to its low profile.
She emphasises the importance of using the term “sexual corruption" rather than “sextortion," which has been used interchangeably but has also taken on a different meaning in recent years due to the rise of cyberbullying and blackmail.
"Sexual corruption manifests as any requests for any kind of sexual activity or intimate activity in exchange for access to public services or privileges," she explains.
“In South Africa, it happens in every sector where there are gatekeepers. We see it in health, education, immigration and public procurement. It usually manifests in the same way – a woman might be asked to meet a man who can provide her with access to certain services or opportunities. He then asks for some kind of sexual contact, or sometimes asks for an intimate image for access to the service or opportunity to be granted."
Women are particularly vulnerable to corruption due to their need for greater access to public services, such as reproductive health care, Williams points out. They often bear the responsibility of caring for children, persons with disabilities and the elderly, requiring them to access these services on behalf of their dependents.
While accurate statistics are hard to come by due to the sensitive nature of the crime and underreporting, Williams cites a survey published by Corruption Watch that found 14% of young people had been victims of sexual corruption. However, she believes the actual prevalence is much higher.
“It's especially problematic in sectors such as education and immigration. Women who need refugee permits or work permits are extremely vulnerable. We also found that there's a big problem in the court system, and the extent of sexual corruption in the criminal justice system will shock you," she says.
While evidence shows that women are disproportionally targeted, men, transgender and gender non-conforming people are also affected.
Inadequate legislation
South Africa's legal framework against corruption has historically focused on financial transactions, criminalising both the giver and the receiver of bribes. However, this approach is inadequate for addressing sexual corruption, Williams asserts.
She mentions an example from the housing sector that illustrates the inadequacy of the law.
“There is a woman who had been on the list for an RDP house in one of the provinces up north for about ten years. An official came to her house a few years ago and said, 'look, you're now at the top of the list. So, we're going to allocate you a house'. But then he walked into her house and said, 'to make sure you get the house, I'll be waiting here on your bed'. The woman was shocked when she realised he expected to have sexual intercourse with her. She immediately asked him to leave. She never got her house. She's still living in the shack today.
“So, if the woman had complied and performed a sexual act to get an RDP house, she cannot report the official, because under the law she's also guilty of a crime. It shouldn't be like this. Sexual corruption should be treated differently from other corruption, because it includes a sexual offense. We can't say both the giver and the receiver are complicit and both committed a crime. With sexual corruption, there is always an abuse of power. The law should target the public servant abusing their position, not the victim forced into a compromising situation due to desperation or other disadvantage."
Williams points to several countries that have taken steps to address sexual corruption more effectively. Tanzania has a separate offense called “sexual bribery" that criminalises the public official who obtains sexual gratification. India requires organisations with more than ten employees to have committees empowered to investigate reports of sexual harassment or corruption. Countries like Sri Lanka, Croatia and Brazil have also enacted specific laws to address sexual corruption recognising it as a gendered crime for which suitable reporting channels are required.
Education and awareness
Beyond legislative changes, Williams emphasises the importance of education and awareness-raising.
“As a society we must think about how we can improve education and how we can counter the normalisation of violence against women and girls. It must start in school already, teaching girls and boys that sex should never be a bargaining tool.
“Part of the reason why it feels sexual corruption has been normalised is that in a country such as South Africa where we have so much sexual violence happening and such a high rate of rape and femicide, sex as a bargaining tool is not seen as the most life-threatening aspect of the problem.
“Sexual corruption seems less egregious when you think about the other types of sexual violence that is going on, such as rape and femicide and gender-based violence."
More women in positions of power and in managerial positions will make a difference to counter sexual corruption, Williams says.
“This is not to say that women don't commit sexual corruption, but definitely not at the rate that men do it and not with the same kind of impunity that men do it. It's actually quite rare for women to victimize people in such a way.
“So having better gender equality in terms of employment and having better reporting mechanisms within organisations will make a difference. The other big priority is that we need to hire better quality people in senior positions in government and in the public administration."
It's problematic that sexual corruption is sometimes treated as an employment matter in workplaces and not seen as a criminal offence, Williams says.
“By the time sexual corruption comes before a tribunal or court, it's usually the tip of the iceberg. It takes a special kind of strong person to put themselves through the justice system because it's brutal on women. You're often revictimized all over again as you're being interrogated.
“It can even be life-threatening. In some of the work we've done, especially with the African Women Against Corruption Network, some of their clients ended up committing suicide. It's not a burden that everyone can carry."
Men need to come on board
Conducting research on sexual corruption has sometimes been an emotionally challenging journey, Williams acknowledges.
“It can be quite draining to learn more about sexual corruption because it makes you so angry. The gender work that I do in general, not just the sexual corruption work, has really opened my eyes. I see things a lot clearly. I've come to realise how much of the dysfunction in our society is due to the patriarchy and the extent to which women subsidize everyone else's life at the expense of their own," she reflects.
“If you look at the anti-corruption law that criminalizes the giver and the receiver of bribe, you realise that the law couldn't have been written with women's input. It was obviously written from the perspective of men. You realise how much in our society has developed around the idea of maleness and excluding women while creating barriers and obstacles for us at almost every level."
To address sexual corruption requires an understanding that it is mainly a problem created and perpetrated by men, Williams concludes. “It's not a problem that can be solved by women, because it's something that benefits men. We need men to come along as real allies and as feminists and as people who care about the future wellbeing of their own daughters and sisters, to help us deal with this problem."
- Prof Williams is one of the experts who will be heard in a documentary Rising Voices: Unmasking Sexual Corruption in South Africa, which will be shown on Friday 27 September at 15:00 in Room 1031 at the Faculty of Law on the SU main campus. This documentary explores the issue of sexual corruption in South Africa through the eyes of victims and survivors. Book your attendance here.?
?
