Politics

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has committed itself to:
Develop effective and efficient responses to Domestic Violence through an integrated policy framework and guidelines to facilitate the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act;
Ensure that adequate administrative arrangements are in place for effective implementation of the Act; and
Ensure that responses to Domestic Violence prioritise the protection of the safety and dignity of victims.
However, there have been many challenges, the first being the budget, and the others being the attitudes of the service providers within the Courts and other service points, the lack of an integrated approach within the Criminal Justice System. Some of the problems experienced and the attempts to resolve the problems are discussed below:

1. PROBLEMS OF ATTITUDES IN COURTS

A challenge of the Criminal Justice System is the understanding of the psychological impact of domestic violence and the coercive control that exists between the perpetrator and the complainant.
The complaint the Department gets is that the victims are asked why they do not leave the abusive relationship.

Resolution:

Social context training for service providers is being conducted by Justice College to facilitate an understanding of the complexities of domestic violence;
The training takes a multi-disciplinary approach where all role players dealing with domestic violence participate.

2. WITHDRAWAL OF PROTECTION ORDERS

The other complaint that the Department receives from the Communities is that the judiciary withdraws protection orders without applying their minds to the test set in Section 10 (2).
Resolution:
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has entered into a contract with the Canadians for training the judiciary.
Training Magistrates in understanding domestic violence and the Act is catered for within this contract. Training will be ongoing to be more effective.

3. EVICTION ORDERS

Magistrates refuse to grant eviction orders in terms of section 7 (1)(c) if the parties are married in community of property. At some courts the magistrates have given directives to the Clerks of the Court to not allow a complainant to apply for an eviction order unless s/he can prove by way of documentation that she/he either owns the property or pays bond repayments.
Magistrates mediate cases when there are mutual protection orders without recording such discussion and then recommending the withdrawal of mutual protection orders.
Resolution:
The Canadian Justice Linkage Program will provide solutions because the training of the judiciary will include the interpretation of the Act in a uniform manner.

4. WITHDRAWAL OF CRIMINAL CHARGES:

There are complaints that the State withdraws charges when the complainant does not want to pursue a charge.
Resolution:
The Multidisciplinary Training Program would assist in resolving this concern.
The Investigating Officers will be trained to collate evidence that could be used when the complainant is not willing to give evidence and the prosecution of that case could proceed using the evidence of the J88 and photographs that may exist to ensure a successful conviction.

5. BAIL AND SENTENCES

There are complaints that inappropriate sentences and bail conditions are granted when a Respondent has contravened the protection order, which results in the complainant being at a high risk of lethal violence.

Resolution:
The Multidisciplinary Training Program would assist in resolving this concern.

6. BUDGET

The resources allocated to the Courts to deal with the effective implementation of the Act are inadequate, as the Department find itself competing with other national priorities. The implementation of the Act has increased the workload in the Courts, however, there has not been an increase in the budgets granted to the Department for additional human resources, equipments in the courts like photocopiers and fax machines and accommodation.

Due to the insufficient budget allocated to the Department, the application forms and other related forms are still only available in English and Afrikaans, the Department would like to print them in the other nine languages. This places an Applicant at a disadvantage when applying for a protection order as the form is not in a language that she understands.
The implementation of the Act is an inter-departmental responsibility, therefore, all the role players must allocate a specific budget to ensure the more effective implementation of the Act. However, different Departments have different priorities or lack funds, which makes implementation very difficult.

7. SPECIALISED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development through the Gender Directorate and the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions through the SOCA unit held an NGO Consultative conference to forge formal and institutionalised partnership with NGOs with the main objective of advancing transformation and improvement of service delivery within the broad constitutional framework of South Africa, specifically in the areas of :
- Sexual Offences;
- Domestic Violence;
Maintenance; and
- Child Justice.

One of the achievements of the abovementioned conference was an agreement between DOJ, the NDPP and the Consortium on Violence Against Women to undertake a pilot project to create a specialised domestic violence court in one a rural area and to develop guidelines from that pilot, to empower other domestic violence courts. An existing court will be adopted and try to improve it within the limited resources.

8. DEVELOPMENT OF A CRIMINAL CHARGE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

There has been complaints about the ineffectiveness of the Domestic Violence Act due to the fact that it is civil and not criminal.

Resolution:
The South African Law Commission will review the Act to develop a proposal on an appropriate charge of domestic violence.
9. ACCESS TO SHELTERS

The effectiveness of the implementation of the Act requires more shelters for service providers to be able to refer victims. The lack of shelters render the protection order powerless as the victims still have to go back to the shelter of the perpetrator.

The socio-economic factors of women affect the effectiveness of the implementation of the Act, due to the fact that victims which are usually dependent on the perpetrator for support and shelter.

Recommendation:
That adequate budget be allocated to the establishment of more shelters, for victims to obtain the necessary protection when leaving the abuser.

10. THE COST OF SERVICE OF PROCESS

In terms of the Domestic Violence Act, the cost for service of process:
- The victim will pay the sheriff’s costs for service of process;
- Where the victim does not have resources, the State should pay for service of process, or
- The South African Police Services should serve the process.
Most victims are women who cannot afford to pay the costs for service of process. The Department then has the responsibility to pay for the costs for service of processes. However, it has been indicated above that the Department receives an insufficient budget. In the case of insufficient budget, the Department has to rely on the SAPS to serve the process. However, the SAPS lacks human and other necessary resources.
Recommendation:
The assistance of this Committee in ensuring that the service providers responsible for the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act receive a sufficient budget is required.

11. COOPERATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SERVICE PROVIDERS AND IN PARTICULAR JUSTICE & SAFETY AND SECURITY:

The multidisciplinary training program is an attempt of all roleplayers to integrate services to be more effective.
12. E-JUSTICE PROGRAM

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has embarked on a four-year program to automate all Courts. The Family Courts, Domestic Violence Courts and Maintenance Courts will also be automated. This would improve services in the courts and prevent dockets being lost. It would also assist in providing reliable statistics.

© Speak Out Terms of Use