The daughter of Joao (Jan) Rodriguez, the apartheid-era policeman accused of murdering teacher & activist Ahmed Timol in a 1971 staged suicide, today laid charges of historical child abuse against her 80-year old father.
Tilana Stander today decided to go public about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father between 1972 and 1976, and filed charges today at the Wynberg FCS offices in Capetown (where she now resides) and she has committed herself to travelling to Gauteng for the trial. The case will be forwarded to Pretoria since the crimes were committed whilst Rodriguez was based at SAPS HQ during the time of the abuse.
Stander
contacted WMACA after a spate of historical child abuse cases and the recent
Frankel 8 amendment to the Criminal Procedures Act (overruling the 20-year
prescription period for prosecution) came to her attention, encouraging her to
finally take the plunge and disclose her own childhood trauma at the hands of
her biological father.
Women & Men Against Child Abuse applaud her bravery in both disclosing and
now taking , a step she describes as not just her personal quest for justice,
but also for her message to other victims: “When I was subjected to this
abuse, we as children were so dominated not to speak out and did not have
the support now offered by organisations such as Women &Men Against Child
Abuse. Part of my drive to act now, are all those adults and children who
don’t have voices to come forward. I now realize it doesn’t matter
how far back this happened – do this for yourself and others that needs the
courage to bring this into the open so that we can teach other parents and
children to always be on the watch out for these predators. It can happen
anywhere with any child… boy or girl.”
LATE DISCLOSURE OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE – UNDERSTANDING DECADES OF SILENCE
We as a society need to actively interrogate our own
ways of thinking about adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and historical
abuse. To ensure that we as a society do not also think the same way as the
accused and enablers, by denying the victim the opportunity to have their story
told.. and HEARD.
Recent disclosures of historical abuse all reiterate similar reasons for not
disclosing: In the past, childhood sexual abuse wasn’t discussed as
freely nor reported on as widely by media, and was much easier to cover
up. More often than not, the perpetrator was in a position of power or
provided financially for the victim’s family, placing them in a catch-22
position. The fear of being branded a liar or ostracised for speaking up has
kept many women like Stander from seeking legal recourse against their abusers,
leaving them to cope with a lifetime of psychological trauma.
WMACA will continue to assist Stander in her plight for justice, and we trust
that the NPA will prioritise this case due to Joao Rodriguez’ age.
Miranda Jordan, founding director, states: “As society we need to
develop a better understanding of the reality of late disclosure, and embrace
the need to see perpetrators held accountable for their crimes, regardless of
their age or the lapse in time. Cases such as this one need to deliver a harsh
message to child abusers about the life sentence they force upon victims.“
Statement by Tilana Stander with regards to her late disclosure:
I today
at last had the courage to formally lay a charge against the man who sexually
abused me as child from 1972 till 1976.
I have been contemplating since 2007 to take this step, to have him prosecuted
for what he did to me, not to let him get away with what he did. I was
however always afraid that nobody would believe me, felt ashamed and was under
the impression that such cases prescribed after 20 years and that it was thus
too late to take any legal action.
As I grew older, the realisation of what he actually did to me become more
vivid and had a very negative impact on my life. I made several attempts
to convince my siblings to acknowledge what I went through, and to speak out
about what happened to me, only to be cast out by my family as a trouble maker
for speaking up. I am now completely estranged from my family. All I ever
wanted was for them to admit what he have done, for him to acknowledge it to
them. This never happened, even after I made it public last year, which now led
to further estrangement from my family.
Recently,
my memories again came to the forefront of my mind, due to the regular
appearance of that man on television in an unrelated case. As fate would
have it, during the same period the ruling was made regarding the recalling of
the restriction on prosecution of historical sexual abuse cases. The
action taking by others since then motivated me to do the same. With the
help of people close to me, I started to write down what happened to me, which
now was handed in at the SAPS for further investigation.
My reasons for only formally going ahead with a compliant now is:
1. I was always so ashamed and believed I must have
done something wrong and I would be further labelled, disgraced and rejected.
2. I was concerned that nobody will believe me, having been
unsuccessful in earlier attempts as mentioned above.
3. My failure until now to receive any acknowledgment from
the rest of my family I want them to realise I am not the trouble
maker in this whole event. I want them to know exactly what happened and
everything he did to me so that they can know I didn’t do this. Even if
they still don’t believe this, I’ve had my say and hopefully have
encouraged other woman/children to come forward. Nobody deserves
this!.”
FOR COMMENTS OR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT WOMEN & MEN AGAINST CHILD ABUSE:
Miranda
Jordan
Founding Director
083 250 6821
Luke
Lamprecht
Advocacy Spokesperson
065 168 2971
Tilana Stander
Plaintiff
please contact Miranda Jordan for interview requests
