Public protector Gcaleka urges corruption charges for sextortion cases

Public protector Kholeka Gcaleka has called for the perpetrators of sextortion to be charged with corruption, arguing that such conduct constitutes gratification as envisaged in the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

Sextortion is a form of blackmail where a person threatens to share private, sexual images or videos of a victim unless the victim pays money, provides more explicit content, or complies with other demands. The law prosecutes this crime under the Cybersecurity Act and the common law crime of extortion.

Speaking at the second University of Stellenbosch Symposium on Gender Inequality and Anti-Corruption in Bellville on Wednesday, Gcaleka said South Africa’s anti-corruption statute does not require a gratification to have a monetary value, meaning sexual corruption is arguably already corruption under existing law.

“What is missing is not the offence but the charge, the prosecution, the record and the count,” she said.

Gcaleka said sextortion is defined by international anti-corruption and accountability bodies such as Transparency International and the International Association of Women Judges as the abuse of entrusted power for sexual rather than financial benefit.

Gcaleka also proposed that, in addition to preferring corruption charges for such conduct, channels for reporting the malady to appropriate authorities should exclude the offices of the perpetrators, with a view to eliminating potential interference.