NGCOBO J perpetrator and testifying with the assistance of a professional, such as an intermediary. [99] The meaning of the phrase “undue mental stress or suffering”, and the manner in which discretion conferred by the subsection must be exercised, must be informed by the objective of section 170A(1) identified above. The question is whether the subsection is capable of being interpreted and applied so as to achieve this objective. If the subsection is capable of a reasonable interpretation that will bring it within constitutional bounds, that interpretation should be preferred over an interpretation which will not. The meaning of the phrase “undue mental stress or suffering” [100] The CPA does not define the phrase “undue mental stress or suffering.” The meaning of the phrase must therefore be understood in the context of the objective of section 170A(1), as informed by section 28(2) of the Constitution, and the atmosphere in which a child testifies in court. That objective is, as I have pointed out above, to protect children from undue mental stress or suffering that may be caused by testifying in court. [101] A court operates in an atmosphere which is intended to be imposing. It is an atmosphere which is foreign to a child. The child sits alone in the witness stand, away from supportive relatives such as a parent. The child has to testify in the presence of the alleged abuser and other strangers including the presiding judicial officer, the 53