Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka was speaking at the second University Stellenbosch Symposium on Gender Inequality and Anti-Corruption in Bellville on Wednesday (12/8). The three-day symposium forms part of the university’s School of Public Leadership’s commemoration of Women’s Month.

She said sexual corruption should not be treated as a lesser or separate offence where public officials or people in positions of authority abuse their power to demand sexual favours.

“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.”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 proposed complaints of sextortion should be reported through channels that do not involve the offices of the alleged perpetrators, to reduce the risk of interference with investigations. Her remarks come amid growing concern over the prevalence of sexual corruption in South Africa.

A presidency-commissioned study released in 2025 found 15% of South Africans reported personal experiences of sexual corruption, with women (19%) and young adults aged 18 to 29 (17%) disproportionately affected. 

The study documented cases in which officials allegedly demanded sex in exchange for services or benefits, highlighting what researchers described as a pattern of power-based exploitation. The symposium also touched on the growing threat of online sexual exploitation.

In 2024, Meta and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) announced the Take It Down initiative, aimed at helping teenagers prevent intimate images from being shared online. 

OFM News previously reported Meta launched a global awareness campaign to educate users about sextortion scams and how to avoid them. The company said it was working with organisations including Missing Children South Africa, Media Monitoring Africa and Digify Africa.

Under the programme, teenagers under 18 who fear intimate content has been shared or may be shared online can visit Take It Down to generate a unique digital fingerprint from their device. Users submit only the code, not the image or video itself. NCMEC can then work with companies such as Meta to identify matching content, remove it, and help prevent further distribution.

“Making ‘Take it Down’ available in 25 languages is a crucial step in protecting children from the horrors of online exploitation around the world,” said John Shehan, senior vice president of NCMEC.

Meta has said the initiative builds on its broader efforts to help young people understand there are practical steps they can take if someone shares, or threatens to share, their intimate images.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg

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