Violence against women and children in South Africa is an indictment of our society, a blot on our proud claims about promoting the rights of all, a stain on all of us. This much will be highlighted when we mark 16 days of activism against gender-based violence (GBV), starting on Friday.
The observance of these 16 days has become an annual ritual that focuses attention on the plight of women and children caught in abusive relationships in their homes and elsewhere — and the men who perpetrate crimes against them with near-impunity.
But mere observance, without giving substance to our words and promises, risks creating an illusion that we are doing something concrete to roll back the scourge when we are not.
We need more than shows of solidarity to give content to the promise of a better and safer life for all, including women and children.
As part of an initiative led by the presidency and the department of justice, legal reforms to strengthen the battle against GBV are being implemented in respect of bail for offenders and the vexed matter of protection orders.
According to police statistics, in just three months this year, from April to June, 855 women and 243 children were killed in South Africa, while more than 11,000 assault cases involving women as victims were opened.
Of deep concern is that some of these killings took place despite the illusion of victims’ protection from abusive partners; the had jumped through all the legal hoops of obtaining a protection order. In too many cases, it seems, these orders made little or no difference.
GBV cases have always been exceedingly complex to resolve because the affected party is often trapped in a position of subservience to the offender, be he a husband, father, employer or other close family member.
Police, who appear reluctant in many cases to pursue an issue that they too often dismiss as a “family matter’’, have often been disinclined to act.
In some cases, victims of GBV are persuaded by the perpetrator to give them another chance, which can be a fatal decision.
With this legal defect in mind, a proposed change to the legislation, in the form of the Domestic Violence Amendment Act, aims to significantly toughen procedures around protection orders.
The law was signed in January and has yet to come into operation. The government agency responsible for its passage, the department of justice, is finalising the details before it comes into effect. It will not be a moment too soon.
The change to the law also allows interested parties to apply for protection orders on behalf of victims with the written consent of the complainant
One big improvement is that a third party can alert the police in the event of a protection order being breached, and there are extra duties imposed on the police to monitor the enforcement of a protection order.
The change to the law also allows interested parties to apply for protection orders on behalf of victims with the written consent of the complainant.
It grants more powers to adults who suspect a child is being exposed to violence at home, and declares any adult who fails to report domestic abuse guilty of an offence.
As with so many good intentions, however, the test will be in the implementation. It will require rigorous adherence to the new provisions if they are to have any effect. As South Africa marks the start of 16 days of activism, we hope the intended changes to the law are implemented without delay.
The push against GBV requires the co-operation of all of society.
Ultimately, only a change in social attitudes will move our society out of the exploitive patriarchy that lies at the root of the culture of violence that targets the most vulnerable in society.
The more our laws can be refined and strengthened, the better our chance of giving life to the promise of a human rights culture in a free society.
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