Recently, we received the email below:

DO YOU KNOW THIS LAW?

An incident took place – a young girl was attacked by a man posing as a plain clothes officer; he asked her to come to the police station when she & her male friend didn’t have a driver’s license to show. He sent the male friend off to get his license and asked the girl to accompany him to the police station. Instead he took her to an isolated area where the rape was committed.

The law [which most of us are not aware of] clearly states that between 6 pm and 6 am, a woman has the right to REFUSE to go to the Police Station, even if an arrest warrant has been issued against her.

It is procedural that a woman can only be arrested between 6am and 6pm, unless she is arrested by a woman officer and taken to an ALL WOMEN police station. If she is arrested by a male officer, it has to be proven that a

woman officer was on duty at the time of arrest.

Please fwd this to as many girls/women you know. Guys, protect your wives, sisters and mothers by knowing this law. It is good for us to know our rights.

Do not neglect, fwd to your entire buddy list.

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After some research, we identified that this email is a hoax which has been circulating the internet for a few years and has been credited in various forms in different countries throughout the world. Although a law such as this would be great in terms of our high rate of rape in South Africa, it is simply not true.

One thing which females should remember if they are arrested, is that under the Criminal Procedures Act, a woman can only be searched by a female police officer. This is your right and if this is not performed by a female you have the right to insist that it is.

If you come across any emails such as this, please do not forward this incorrect information further. Although your intentions are noble, by passing on these hoax emails, you could inadvertently cause someone to be charged with refusing arrest, if they believe that these emails are true.