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Pretoria News reports that three judges of the High Court in Pretoria have said that for the City of Matlosana (Klerksdorp) to blame a librarian for being brutally raped while on duty at a community library was offensive, bizarre and deeply insensitive towards the woman.
The disgraceful case is as follows: The victim was raped in July 2008 while on duty at a community library; the City denied the rape ever took place and then later said she was to blame as she had to take steps to ensure her own safety; the City claimed it could not have foreseen the incident; but the victim had frequently complained about the unsafe working environment; incidents of crime at the library were reported; in September 2002 there was an attempted rape of the victim; but her pleas for a safe working environment fell on deaf ears until she was raped in July 2008; she instituted damages against her employer; on the eve of the trail the City admitted the rape had taken place; it told the court that this was “an occupational injury” for which damages could be claimed in terms of the Compensation Act; on the advice of her lawyers, the victim withdrew her claim, but was saddled with a hefty legal bill for the fruitless court application; she also had to also pay the City’s legal costs; the court agree she had to pay the bills; on appeal, three judges ruled in her favour and ordered the City to foot the legal bills.
- Read this report by Zelda Venter in full at Pretoria News
- Read too, Verkragte bibliotekaresse wen saak oor regskoste, at Netwerk24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page