# Immorality Amendment Act, 1988

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The "Immorality Amendment Act, 1988" (Act No. 2 of 1988) is a South African Act of Parliament which amended the Immorality Act, 1957.
Act
To amend the Immorality Act, 1957, so as to rectify certain obsolete expressions; to increase the maximum fines which may be imposed for certain contraventions in terms of the said Act; to extend the prohibition on a parent or guardian from procuring the defilement of his daughter so that it shall apply in respect of all his children, and to create a presumption in this connection; to make other provision in connection with the offence of assistance for the purposes of unlawful carnal intercourse, and the presumption concomitant therewith; to adapt and extend the provisions relating to sexual offences by a male with youths so that they shall also apply to a female; to extend the prohibition of sexual acts with female idiots or imbeciles so that it shall also apply in respect of male idiots or imbeciles; and to make it an offence for a person to have unlawful carnal intercourse, or to commit an act of indecency, with any other person for reward; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
(English text signed by the State President.) (Assented to 25 February 1988.)
Be it enacted by the State President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:―
1. Section 1 of the Immorality Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of “court” of the following definition:
“‘court’ means the court [or jury] before [whom] which the charge is brought;”.
2. Section 8 of the principal Act is hereby amended—
(a)
“If it appears to any magistrate on sworn information laid before him by not less than two householders of good repute that any house or place in the vicinity of the dwellings of such householders is being kept or used as a brothel or on similar information upon oath laid before him by any police officer not below the rank of sergeant, or by a welfare officer employed by [the Department of Social Welfare] a department of State responsible for Health and Welfare, a local authority or a welfare organization registered under the [Welfare Organizations Act, 1947 (Act No. 40 of 1947)] National Welfare Act, 1978 (Act No. 100 of 1978), the magistrate may—”;
(b)
“(2) Any person found in or upon such house or place who, when called upon to do so by the police officer conducting the search, refuses to furnish his name and address or furnishes a name or address which is false in any material particular or refuses to disclose the name or identity of the keeper of such house or place or to produce any book, receipt, paper, document or thing which he has in his possession or custody or under his control, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding [two hundred rand] R1 000 and in default of payment to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.”; and
(c)
3. Section 9 of the principal Act is hereby amended—
(a)
“(1) Any person who, being a parent or guardian of any [female] child under the age of 18 years—
(a)
(b)
shall be guilty of an offence.
(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1) (b) a parent or guardian whose child has been defiled or seduced or has become a prostitute, shall be deemed to have assisted in bringing about that defilement, seduction or prostitution if he has knowingly permitted his child to consort with, or to continue in the employment of, a prostitute or a person with an immoral reputation.”; and
(b)
“(2) The term ‘guardian’ in this section includes any person who has in law or in fact the custody or control of the [female] child.”.
4. Section 12A of the principal Act is hereby amended—
(a)
“(1) Any person who, with intent or while he reasonably ought to have foreseen the possibility that any [female, whether a particular female or not, be unlawfully carnally known by any male] person may have unlawful carnal intercourse, or commit an act of indecency, with any other person for reward, performs for reward any act [or does anything or furnishes any information] which is calculated [or likely] to enable such [male] other person to communicate with [or to establish the whereabouts of or to trace] any such [female] person, shall be guilty of an offence.”; and
(b)
5. The following section is hereby substituted for section 14 of the principal Act:
14. (1) Any male person who—
(a)
(b)
(c)
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) It shall be a sufficient defence to any charge under [this section] subsection (1) if it shall be made to appear to the court—
(a)
(c)
6. The following section is hereby substituted for section 15 of the principal Act:
15. Any person who—
(a)
(b)
(c)
shall, if it be proved that such person knew that such male or female was an idiot or imbecile, be guilty of an offence.”.
7. Section 20 of the principal Act is hereby amended—
(a)
(b)
“(2) If it is made to appear to a magistrate by information on oath that there is reason to suspect that any house is used [by a female] for purposes of prostitution and that any person residing in or frequenting the house is living wholly or in part on the earnings of [the prostitute] prostitution, the magistrate may issue a warrant authorizing any police officer not below the rank of sergeant to enter and search the house and to arrest that person.”.
8. Section 21 of the principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection:
“(4) Whenever in any prosecution for an offence under section 12A it is proved—
(a)
(b)
the accused shall be presumed to have performed such act [or to have done such thing or to have furnished such information, as the case may be] with intent or while he reasonably ought to have foreseen the possibility that such [female be unlawfully carnally known by such male] other person may have unlawful carnal intercourse, or commit an act of indecency, with such person for reward unless the contrary is proved beyond reasonable doubt.”.
9. Section 22 of the principal Act is hereby amended—
(a)
“(a)
(b)
“(b)
(c)
“(c)
(d)
“(f)
(e)
“(g)
10. The following section is hereby substituted for section 25 of the principal Act.
25. This Act shall be called the [Immorality] Sexual Offences Act, 1957.”.
11. This Act shall be called the Immorality Amendment Act, 1988.
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