Legal steps to take in cases of GBV, abuse, explained at event
Marking the close of Women’s Month, the Ndlambe Mayor’s Office held a gender-based violence awareness event on Wednesday August 31.
This saw representatives from the Moral Regeneration Movement, the Department of Social Development and the Commission for Gender Equality united by a common cause in taking a stand against gender-based violence.
Attorney from the Commission for Gender Equality, Moeng Ditlhage, advised participants about the legal processes in cases of gender-based violence.
“I am going to talk about some of the laws that can protect you,” Ditlhage said, explaining the Protection from Harassment and Domestic Violence Acts.
HARRASSMENT ACT
Go to the clerk of the court at the magistrate’s court to apply for a protection order in terms of the Protection from Harassment Act.
After having submitted an application, the court will call applicants and the alleged perpetrator to inform them of the date for the hearing, at which they will talk to the magistrate.
Once a protection order has been granted, if the alleged perpetrator continues to harass a person, and they report it to the police, a warrant of arrest will be issued.
Domestic violence can be physical, emotional or verbal, or a combination.
The application process for a protection order in terms of the Domestic Violence Act is similar.
Ditlhage said in an application for a protection order, an applicant must explain what they are requesting.
“If you do not want the accused to touch or come near to you, you write that down.
“The application gets sent to the accused with a warrant of arrest,” Ditlhage said.
During the question and answer session, it was evident the event provided a platform for residents to vent their frustrations.
Members of an NPO based in Bathurst, Community in Blue, asked where they could get assistance for children, from 11 to 13 years of age, who were abusing drugs.
The NPO, which works to get children who drop out of school back into the system, also fights crime in the area.
ANC PR councilor Siphokazi Dyakala said the Community in
Blue members were making a difference in Bathurst.
In response to the question of substance abuse, Ditlhage said: “The issue of drugs is painful. But we all know who are selling drugs in communities.
“Report those people and if police do not act, you can report them to us.
“Another thing please, do not buy stolen goods because by doing so you indirectly encourage stealing.”
Social development representative, Lineka Apleni, was asked to urge her department’s staff to be more available and visible in areas outside Port Alfred, like Bathurst.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
According to the Domestic Violence Act No 116 of 1998, this involves any form of abuse which includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological or economic harassment; damage to property; stalking; entry into a person’s property without their consent; any other abusive or controlling behaviour where such conduct causes harm or may cause harm to your health, safety, or wellbeing.
If you or anyone you know is being subjected to any form of abuse, you can apply for a protection order.
A domestic violence protection order is a document issued by the court which prevents the abuser from: Committing an act of domestic violence; enlisting the help of another person to commit any such act; entering a residence shared by the complainant and the respondent; entering a specified part of such a shared residence; entering the complainant’s residence or place of employment; preventing the complainant who ordinarily lives or lived in a shared residence from entering or remaining in the shared residence or a specified part of the shared residence or; committing any other act as specified in the protection order.
Source: Department of Justice (https://www.justice.gov.za/).