Reality of domestic violence hits hard
There is definitely an increase in domestic violence cases in George. So says Maryna Squire, manager of Phambili Women's Shelter in George. And with Conville being 19th on the list of reported domestic violence cases for 2018/2019 with 909 cases, it should come as no surprise that most of Phambili's cases come from Conville and Borcherds.
In the Southern Cape, Knysna has the most cases (1 620) and Oudtshoorn is a close second with 1 406 cases. "Our busiest time is over long weekends and holidays. The victims are mainly between the ages of 19 and 35 and we also deal with women who are homeless and drug dependent - that's our biggest challenge. Their parents kick them out of the house because they steal or cause trouble at home," says Squire.
Countrywide
The Department of Community Safety (Docs) recently concluded their census project that was started in 2017*. The results show that most reported forms of domestic violence included physical and emotional abuse (46%) and verbal and psychological abuse (29%). Of the 34 209 incidents reported in 2018/19, the majority were reported in Mitchell's Plain (3 155 cases), Delft (2 071 cases), Harare (1 716) and Knysna (1 620). A total of 909 were reported in Conville.
Functioning of victim support rooms
In a press release the Western Cape Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, said that victim support rooms are an important component in addressing genderbased violence. Unfortunately the census shows that victim support rooms don't have enough volunteers. "I therefore call on all station commanders to work more closely with their local community policing forums, victim support units and neighbourhood watch structures to increase the number of volunteers at their stations," he said.
Fritz also said there is an increasing trend at some stations to not have complete records of victim details in the domestic violence register. "This makes it impossible to conduct follow-ups with victims on services rendered by the police, as not all domestic violence incidents were registered and criminal cases opened," he said.
Protection orders served
The census also analysed the serving of protection orders in 2018. Although some stations were commended on their efficiency in serving protection orders, other stations had an extremely low rate of serving protection orders at 38%. "This means that known perpetrators of GBV are free to roam the streets, directly threatening the lives and well-being of their chosen victims," said Fritz.
Court Watching Brief Unit
Of the total 159 GBV-related cases monitored by the Court Watching Brief Unit between April 2018 and September 2019, 86 investigations were incomplete, 54 dockets did not arrive at court, 15 forensic reports were outstanding, in some cases the accused was not brought to court within 48 hours of arrest or the witnesses were not at court. "These factors contribute to cases being struck off the roll and are a complete miscarriage of justice, infringing on the constitutional rights of the victim."
* The initial reporting period of six months covering 150 stations was between July and Dec 2017. The census was later updated with more information from a further study which examined 20 stations over a 12-month period between April 2018 and March 2019. The census takes place every five years. The next one is scheduled for 2023.