Experts focus on SA’s ‘justice gap’

Three-day conference kicks off at CTICC

DISCREPANCIES in justice for people living in well-resourced suburbs versus townships are under scrutiny at local NPO Ilitha Labantu’s international conference, which has brought together civil society and government.

The three-day conference kicked off yesterday at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Participants include civil society activists, MPs and representatives of key ministries, regional and international experts, donor agencies and UN representatives.

They all have a focus on targeted interventions and approaches to ensure equal access to justice for victims of violence against women and children and the implementation of national legal and policy frameworks.

The conference coincides with Ilitha Labantu’s 30th anniversary celebrations.

The organisation was the first to offer free counselling services, legal advice, education and awareness about violence against women and children in the townships of the Western Cape.

The conference also falls within the annual 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children.

Ilitha Labantu founder and president Mandisa Monakali said for more than three decades its staff had served as a beacon of hope for thousands of victims and survivors of violence.

“In the same week Uyinene was murdered, a young girl in Heinz Park, a 14-year-old-girl, was murdered and raped by eight men and then dumped in the back of her grandmother’s house.

“While cases are moving, the cases in the townships are not moving and we are having serious problems. That is the reason we have called the judges, magistrates and prosecutors to tell us what is happening,” she said.

Monakali added that the justice system was modelled on outdated principles that had not changed in line with democracy.

National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise said the ideals of justice and those who implemented it could not be examined without looking at the tools at their disposal.

“The magistrates, especially the female ones, seem to be the ones who offend us when it counts: dealing with rape and domestic violence.

“We need to speak out to say to the sisters who sit on the Bench that we, too, have a role.

“Maybe we need to organise a conversation with the women of the judiciary, magistrates, women lawyers. We need to ask ourselves why, if you look at the Oscar Pistorius case, there was a lot of looking at the circumstances.

“Why is it when a 9-year-old child is raped that the circumstances are reduced to ‘we’ll only deal with the facts as they appear before us’?”

Consul General of France in Cape Town Laurent Amar said his country had followed the recent initiatives of President Cyril Ramaphosa to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence.

“France is at South Africa’s disposal to support the implementation of this announcement, particularly through the exchange of experiences,” Amar said.

Other speakers expected to address the conference will include Deputy Justice and Correctional Services Minister John Jeffery, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi and AU special envoy on women, peace and security Theophilia Shaanika.