Abused EC women still live in fear
Police accused of failing to protect victims
THERE has been an outcry from Eastern Cape women supposedly shielded by protection orders who say they still live in constant fear of abusive ex-partners who threaten their lives.
Stories gathered by the Dispatch come at a time when the hashtag #MenAreTrash has gathered a lot of online attention. Yesterday, the Sunday Times led its edition with the story of Johannesburg student Karabo Mokoena, 22, who, hours after a heated physical argument with her boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe, 27, was found murdered and her body burnt and scorched with acid. Mantsoe has been charged with murder.
Some of the women accuse police of failing to uphold court orders and even flouting them.
It has been claimed that instead of giving them the protection they need, officers sometimes even side with and protect the men named in the protection orders, to the point of allowing further harm.
Two weeks ago, a police officer knocked on the door of an East London woman’s flat, saying he had received an anonymous tip-off from an informant who said her 15-yearold was smoking weed.
Unbeknown to her, the informant was her ex-partner, who had accompanied the officer to visit her.
The woman had a protection order against her ex, which should have protected her from any interaction with him. Standing next to the officer, the man allegedly verbally abused her.
“When I informed the officer about the protection order he said it didn’t count as it needed to be renewed every six months,” the woman said. This is not true.
“He went on to berate me along with my ex, and they threatened to have me kicked out of my flat. He [the ex-partner] is using his police friends to harass me. I don’t know what he’s trying to achieve.”
The woman has had the protection order against him for about four years. It is not the first time he has violated it. Previously, he has threatened to kill her.
In a separate incident, a resident of Victory House safe house in East London was “failed” by the police when her husband arrived at the safe house shouting and demanding to see her.
Police removed him for causing a disturbance but did not arrest him him , as warranted by the protection order.
Protection orders are issued with the aim of preventing a recurrence of domestic violence or sexual harassment.
Once the order is granted, it is enforceable throughout the country, restraining its subject from coming into any form of contact with the complainant. It is effective immediately, and it warrants immediate arrest if its conditions are broken.
Kerry Anne Oosthuysen, legal officer at the Eastern Cape Commission for Gender Equality, said they were seeing an increase in complaints regarding domestic violence. She said complaints ranged from lack of enforcement of the warrant of arrest to failure to serve interim protection orders.
“There is a general lack of knowledge and misinformation about the workings of protection orders, as well as a delay in serving them.
“A recent complaint came from a woman alleging that after a violent attack with a knife, the police failed to arrest the perpetrator, who is also a police officer, despite the woman having a protection order. She was told by the police that they weren’t able to help because it was a ‘family matter’.”
“It must be strongly emphasised that there is a legislative duty on police officers to enforce warrants of arrest when protection orders are breached.”
Captain Khaya Thonjeni of the SAPS Eastern Cape Media Centre agreed that there was “a problem”.
However he cautioned against the public making “generalisations”.
Referring to the case involving the police officer and others who failed to enforce protection orders, he said: “It should not be assumed that all police officers do this. It is important to research these circumstances so that the officers can be singled out.
“It is important that women report these incidences to the station commander. If that fails, there is an upward referral to the provincial department. We will investigate such matters,” he said.
“However, remember that an interim order is issued by the Department of Justice with the National Prosecuting Authority and questions related to such matters can be better handled by them.
“The SAPS is just an implementation agent. Currently, the SAPS has not noted any challenges with implementation of warrants,” Thonjeni said.
Gaye Moonieya, chief social worker at Christian Social Service, says: “It is my experience that many members of the police often do not understand the workings of protection orders.”
Moonieya, who works closely with survivors of abuse, added: “When people wonder why victims of violence stay with their partners, one reason is that they do not feel they will get the help the law affords them.” —