Paul Diamond was one of eight people who challenged South Africa’s 20-year limit on prosecuting sexual offences. Paul Diamond is a London-based strategic investor with ties to Zimbabwe, who joined the so-called “Frankel Eight” who alleged child sexual abuse decades earlier.
His participation helped force a legal change that removed that prescription period. This article explains how South Africa, Paul Diamond, Zimbabwe, and the rest of the Frankel Eight changed the law for the benefit of childhood abuse survivors.
The Law Before the Case
Before 2017, South Africa’s Criminal Procedure Act (section 18) imposed a 20-year prescription period for prosecuting sexual offences other than rape. That meant victims of non-rape sexual abuse had to sue or report the abuse within 20 years or lose the right.
Rape and closely related crimes such as compelled rape did not fall under the 20-year limit.
Many survivors did not come forward in time. Silence was common. Shame, fear, and threats prevented disclosure. For many children, the full harm was only understood years later.
The law created an uneven playing field. Survivors of rape could seek justice decades later. Survivors of other sexual crimes, such as molestation or sexual grooming, could not. The distinction made little sense in law or morality.
This prescription rule had blocked many historical abuse cases from being heard. It denied justice and allowed abusers to escape accountability simply because time had passed.
The Survivors’ Challenge: The Frankel Eight and Paul Diamond
In 2013, eight individuals, including Paul Diamond, filed complaints of alleged abuse by businessman Sidney Frankel. The abuse reportedly happened when they were between 7 and 15 years old, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Diamond, who had lived in Zimbabwe, became one of the public faces of the challenge. For him and the others, this was not just a personal matter. It was about breaking a cycle of silence that had harmed generations.
Paul Diamond was one of those who could not bring criminal charges earlier because the 20-year prescription bar applied.
They launched a case in the Johannesburg High Court to challenge section 18 as unconstitutional. Their claim: the law discriminated between survivors of rape and survivors of other sexual offences, violating rights to equality and dignity.
The case became known as the Frankel Eight. It symbolised a survivor-led push to reshape the law. The applicants stood together even though Frankel himself died in 2017, before criminal charges could proceed.
In June 2017, Judge Claire Hartford ruled the 20-year limit unconstitutional. The High Court decision declared section 18 invalid in how it barred all non-rape sexual abuse offences after 20 years.
Paul Diamond said the judgment “would forever change the prosecution of sexual offenders in South Africa.”
Survivor-Led Change and Its Importance
The Frankel Eight case proved that survivors could lead legal transformation. It was not only lawyers, NGOs, or legislators pushing reform. Survivors themselves stood before the courts to demand justice.
This mattered because it gave the case legitimacy. Survivors spoke directly about the harm caused by the law. They described how silence and trauma stretched across decades. That testimony convinced the courts that prescription periods in sexual offences were unjust.
Survivor-led change also breaks stigma. When people like Paul Diamond and his co-applicants came forward, they showed others they were not alone. Silence protects abusers. Speaking out challenges systems that favor perpetrators.
The case became a landmark in South Africa’s broader struggle with gender-based violence. The country faces high rates of abuse, yet conviction rates remain low. By removing legal barriers, the ruling gave survivors new tools.
Zimbabwe Roots and Regional Significance
The Paul Diamond Zimbabwe experience added a regional layer to the case. Zimbabwe, like many African states, has struggled with how to address sexual violence legally. Many survivors remain silenced by stigma and a lack of institutional support.
Diamond’s participation highlighted how injustice is not limited by borders. Survivors in one country can inspire change in another. South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruling set a precedent that lawyers and activists in Zimbabwe and beyond could look to.
In Zimbabwe, prescription laws have been debated but reforms are slow. Survivor stories often remain hidden. Diamond’s case in South Africa may encourage further legal challenges in his home country and across Southern Africa.
The cross-border aspect shows that survivor voices can push reforms across regions. Justice becomes a shared struggle, not confined to one nation’s borders.
The Impact of the Constitutional Court Ruling
The case went to the Constitutional Court for confirmation. In June 2018, the Court unanimously confirmed the High Court’s ruling. It held that prescribing a time limit on non-rape sexual offences was irrational and unconstitutional.
The Court ordered that there should be no time limit for prosecuting any sexual offence in South Africa, regardless of how long ago it occurred, or whether the survivor was a child or adult.
The decision aligned South Africa’s criminal law with international legal norms requiring access to justice for survivors.
The ruling was suspended for 24 months to allow Parliament to amend legislation. Until then, the prescription-rule was to be read as if it did not apply.
Parliament later amended section 18 to reflect the Constitutional Court ruling. The law now allows prosecution of any sexual offence at any time.
Survivor-Led Reform Beyond South Africa
South Africa is not the only country where survivors have led reform. In Kenya, survivor activism helped push the government to strengthen child protection laws.
One example was the Ripples International 160 Girls case, where 11 young girls challenged police inaction on sexual violence. The courts ruled in 2013 that police must properly investigate such cases, setting a binding precedent.
Survivors, with the help of advocacy groups, forced systemic accountability where state structures had failed. This shows that survivor-led law change in Africa is possible beyond South Africa and can ripple across borders.
Global Precedent and Wider Lessons
The Frankel Eight case has global importance. Time bars on sexual abuse cases exist in many countries. Survivors often speak out decades later, only to find the law closed against them.
By overturning its 20-year rule, South Africa joined a growing number of jurisdictions recognising that sexual trauma does not follow neat timelines. Disclosure may take decades. Justice must remain available whenever survivors are ready.
Paul Diamond’s story shows how individuals can push systemic change. A businessman from Zimbabwe, together with others, helped set a precedent that lawyers now cite worldwide.
Countries across Africa, Europe, and the Americas continue to debate prescription periods. This ruling adds weight to arguments that all time limits in sexual offences should end.
Paul Diamond’s Role and Legacy
Paul Diamond, as part of the Frankel Eight, helped overhaul a law that denied justice to survivors whose abuse happened long ago. His courage, along with that of the other applicants, turned a silencing rule into a tool for accountability.
Though originating from Zimbabwe, Paul Diamond Zimbabwe’s story matters in South Africa and globally. Any law that limits survivors’ access to justice because of time risks violating constitutional values.
The removal of the 20-year prescription for non-rape sexual offences sets a precedent. It underlines that justice delayed should not become justice denied. Because of Paul Diamond and the others, countless survivors may now bring their claims, regardless of how much time has passed.
Paul Diamond and the Frankel Eight showed the South Africa, Zimbabwe and the world the powerful voice of survivors.
The Frankel Eight showed that survivors’ voices are powerful enough to reshape entire legal systems. Their case continues to inspire, not only in South Africa but in any country still holding onto prescription laws that silence survivors.
