Govt strengthens fight against GBVF
Cabinet has approved three new Bills to help deal with the second pandemic
confronting the country
Government is ramping up its fight against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
In an effort to curtail the spread of what President Cyril Ramaphosa says is the second pandemic facing the country, the Department of Social Development has donated R100 million to non-governmental organisations fighting GBVF.
In addition, Cabinet has approved three new Bills – the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment
Act Amendment Bill, the Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill and the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill.
According to the
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, John Jeffery, the amendments will strengthen existing legislation so that victims of abuse are better protected by law.
Review process
The review of the laws surrounding GBVF cases started in 2018, following the Presidential Summit on GBVF. One of the summit's outcomes was a call to review the laws around GBVF.
Deputy Minister Jeffery says the review process is now set for ratification in Parliament.“We have a second pandemic of women being beaten, killed and raped, many of them by a partner or someone that they know.
“One of the declarations from the summit was that laws need to be reviewed and tightened. So, as the Department of Justice, we have reviewed the laws relating to domestic violence and sexual offences.They are amendment Bills to laws that are already there,” he explains.
Domestic Violence Amendment Bill
The Domestic Violence Amendment Bill allows for the elderly to seek a protection order from an abuser who is not necessarily their spouse.
The Bill extends the definition of ‘domestic violence' to include the protection of older persons against abuse experienced from family members and loved ones.
The amendment relating to the elderly reads: “Elder abuse means abusive behaviour in a relationship with an older person. It can include financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, as well as controlling behaviour like social isolation or inten
tional and unintentional neglect.”
The Bill also enables people to apply for a protection order online.This means people seeking a protection order will now be able to depose and file an affidavit online.
The Domestic Violence Amendment Bill also criminalises people not reporting cases of domestic abuse.“If people have knowledge of domestic violence that is going on, there is a duty to report it as it's criminalised if they don't,” explains Deputy Minister Jeffery.
For example, a family knows that a man is beating his wife, they have a legal duty to report the abuse, he adds.
The Bill also makes it easier for the police to arrest a perpetrator.
It gives police the discretion to arrest without a warrant in certain circumstances, and also permits them to enter a private dwelling, using commensurate force so as to obtain evidence, including the detection and questioning of the alleged abuser.
Another new provision is that if an abuser has a licensed firearm, the police will take possession of the firearm, even if the perpetrator uses it for work.
Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill
Through the Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill further protection will be offered to victims of sexual abuse when they testify in court. It provides for an intermediary to be appointed to broker dialogue between a victim and lawyers.
The Deputy Minister says that the intermediary will hear the questions from the lawyers and then rephrase them so that they are more palatable and are properly understood by the victim.The victim will respond through the intermediary.
The Bill states that parties involved in a court case may apply to have an intermediary present or the court may choose to appoint one. This will be done if the court believes that someone may be exposed to secondary victimisation.
According to the Bill, life imprisonment must be imposed on those convicted of the murder of a child, and murder resulting from physical abuse or sexual abuse by the accused who is or was in a domestic relationship with the victim.
It also sets out circumstances where rape is punishable by life imprisonment to include instances where the parties are or were in a domestic relationship.
Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill
As part of the tightening the laws, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill has introduced a new offence, called sexual intimidation.This new crime means that if a person is threatened with rape or any form of sexual assault, the perpetrator will be charged under this law.
“If you threaten someone that you are going to rape them; are going to force them to rape somebody else; you are going to sexually violate; or expose their private parts, you have committed a crime,” says the Deputy Minister.
The Bill also seeks to expand the scope of the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to include the particulars of all sex offenders and not only offenders against children and persons who are mentally disabled, as is the position now.
An offender whose particulars are recorded in the NRSO may not work, or occupy positions that place them in contact, with children or persons who are mentally disabled.
Under the new amendments, companies and organisations who deal with children and people living with mental illnesses must check potential new employees against the register.The Bills were expected to be introduced to Parliament.