Cape Town - Judgment has been reserved in the gag order matter before the Western Cape High Court, between Reverend June Dolley-Major and her alleged rapist, an Anglican Church reverend.
The man, who is currently suspended from his pastoral duties, while a Diocesan Tribunal is under way, had lent himself to the Western Cape High Court seeking relief that Dolley-Major not name him on social media, citing that defamatory statements have been made against him in the public domain, after she named him as her alleged rapist.
Earlier this week, arguments were heard at the high court and submissions were made by the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC), admitted as a friend of the court, in the case – which they say will have wide consequences for women, who choose to name their perpetrators of sexual violence publicly and on social media.
In her heads of argument, Dolley-Major said: “The facts of this case demonstrate that, for far too long, rape has been used as a tool to relegate the women of this country to second-class citizens, over whom men can exercise their power and control and, in so doing, strip them of their rights to equality, human dignity and bodily integrity.”
Dolley-Major submitted that her alleged rapist was abusing the court with the urgent application, as his name had been mentioned publicly in 2016 already, and said the only reason he had brought this matter urgently was due to him being suspended by the church, while a tribunal process is under way.
WLC brought the example of how dozens of women came forward in the #MeToo movement and how the same happened in this case, where many women spoke against the alleged rapist after Dolley-Major made her public posts.
“There is also a common belief that women lie about being raped. This belief is moored in a distrust of women’s narratives about their experiences. The reality is that false claims constitute between 2-7% of all reported cases of sexual assault. Speaking about the experience of rape, and identifying one’s rapist, is not about revenge or retribution,” WLC submitted.
The man submitted that the “conduct of (Dolley-Major) is unlawful and is causing a genuine disruption in my life, activities, ability to earn an income, and the activities of my family”.
Responding to the WLC’s arguments, the man said he “does not take issue with the submissions by the Amicus that rape is a heinous crime and that rape survivors are entitled to be heard”.
“This is not a dispute between the respondent and all women who have ever been raped or sexually assaulted, nor is this a dispute between all men and all women in South Africa. This is a very limited dispute, between the applicant and the respondent, wherein the applicant claims that the respondent should be restrained from publishing defamatory comments about him,” the alleged rapist submitted.
Cape Times