characters > cheryl gilwald

Cheryl Gilwald’s story

"If we can get our boy children to think it very cool to be men of peace, to be men that accord dignity to all persons, particularly vulnerable people, then that would be our success story."

• The Minister's role in the making of the film
• The Minister's response to the sexual assault crisis
• The Minister talks about prevention

The Minister's role in the making of the film

Cheryl Gilwald is South Africa's Deputy Justice Minister and took a personal interest in Laura's case when Cathy visited the country in 2001 and 2002. Minister Gilward agreed to participate in a filmed interview (although she does not appear in the film, Minister Gilwald provided the filmmaker with background information about the ways in which South Africa's parliament and courts were responding to the crisis).

The Minister's response to the sexual assault crisis

While the Minister does not accept that the incidence of sexual assault is higher in South Africa, she says, "I do believe we’re unusual in the amount of openness and discussion and discourse in the community. This is a very open debate. It sometimes actually jars with foreigners - they’re very frightened of our degree of openness.

"The issue here is that, even if we had unlimited resources and we developed a 100 percent response rate to every incidence of violence, sexual or other, we would just be dealing with the symptoms. It’s about South Africans deciding individually and collectively that we will become intolerant of violent behaviour and that, as mothers, we will teach our sons that a violent solution to any problem is the ultimate cowardice and that the path of peace is the brave choice, the right choice, and the choice that must be encouraged."

One of the issues that plagues many survivors of sexual assault - which is of particular concern in Glory’s case - is how frequently the offenders are released on bail.

Deputy Minister Gilwald acknowledged that this is an area of criticism, but says it’s not the role of the legislature (parliament) to dictate whether or not an individual perpetrator should be released on bail. She argued that this decision must be left to the judiciary.

"The independence of the judiciary is a principal most of us would die for. It is a very important component of a proper justice system. But yes, I do believe that we need to be very careful about the way we protect victims."

The Minister talks about prevention

Minister Gilwald believes that men have a very important role to play in tackling the sexual assault crisis in South Africa: "We need men as key role players in the solution to peace in our country. We need to define our behaviours differently and we need to expect from one another different things. And so men are critical to the solution in the way forward.

"I keep thinking if we can get our boy children to think it very cool to be men of peace, to be men that accord dignity to all persons, particularly vulnerable people, then that would be our success story."