Judge’s Facebook comments about rape condemned as racist

A high court judge may have landed in trouble after her comments about rape and black culture were posted on social media.

Judges are generally held to higher standards in their utterances, even when their statements are intended to be private, and this is especially so when their comments could affect public perceptions about their impartiality in judging cases that come to their courts. Judge Mabel Jansen’s comments — reposted on Facebook and Twitter at the weekend by film-maker Gillian Schutte — have been condemned as racist and have raised questions about whether a black man accused of rape would get a fair trial before her.

In the messages Ms Schutte put up on social media, Judge Jansen said: “In their culture a woman is there to pleasure them. Period. It is seen as an absolute right and a woman’s consent is not required.

“I still have to meet a black girl who was not raped at about 12. I am dead serious.”

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) — which deals with complaints against judges — confirmed on Sunday it had received correspondence that a complaint was on its way.

Judge Jansen said she was unable to respond to questions as her husband had died on Saturday. However, on Twitter, she said: “What I stated confidentially to somebody in a position to help has been taken completely out of context and referred to specific court cases.”