DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Compiled by Annesta Hofer


The information compiled in this article is mainly sourced from a study done by the Lawyers for Human Rights in combination with practical experiences and information from GRIP.

1. Introduction:

Research has proven that national figures for intimate femicide (men killing their intimate female partners) in South Africa are the highest reported anywhere in the world and it is estimated that a woman is killed by her partner every six hours.

Domestic violence is a common phenomenon within South Africa and there is a wide range of abuse experienced, but unfortunately most cases of domestic violence are not reported to police, and therefore the perpetrators of domestic violence are rarely punished. South African women often consider beatings to be a natural part of relationships.

2. The definition of gender based violence and domestic violence:

Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

The definition of domestic violence: Domestic Violence constitutes physical, sexual, emotional, verbal and psychological abuse, economic abuse, intimidation, harassment, stalking, damage to property, and any other controlling or abusive behaviour where such conduct harms the health or well-being of the survivor.

3. The purpose of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA)

To afford the victims of domestic violence the maximum protection from domestic abuse that the law can provide: and to introduce measures which seek to ensure that the relevant organs of state give full effect to the provisions of this Act, and thereby to convey that the State is committed to the elimination of domestic violence.

The DVA allows survivors of domestic violence to apply for protection orders and concurrent warrants of arrest should the order be violated. Victims may also request the court to seize any weapons held by the abuser, evict the abuser from home, and/or submit a request for emergency maintenance. The police are obliged to assist a complainant in accessing the enforcement process or in lodging a criminal complaint. Any person can bring an application on behalf of a survivor of domestic violence, with written consent of the survivor, but this rule is discarded in cases involving minors, mentally retarded or unconscious survivors.

The court can hear evidence either on affidavit or in person. It is assumed that hearsay and other secondary evidence will be more readily admitted.

The DVA prescribes the issuing of a warrant of arrest at the same time a protection order is issued. The act requires the complainant to make an affidavit to the SAPS in which she states that the protection order was transgressed. The police are then left with the discretion to arrest or not.

4. What GRIP does to improve access to domestic violence services

GRIP renders the following services in helping domestic violence survivors:

  • Pay for transportation for accessing services.
  • Ensure that there is no slow response times by the police.
  • Offer support services to abused women and children.
  • Ensure efficient communication between the survivor and the SAPS and Court by providing telecommunication services.
  • Follow up support and counseling.
  • Provide a "Victim Friendly Room" for all survivors of domestic violence at the Police and at the Court, where they are counseled in privacy and where their emotional needs are given attention.
  • GRIP ensures that even though Police are suffering from heavy caseloads and lack of dedication to domestic violence issues, the application process and the obtaining of protection orders, is done in an empathetic and supportive way without prejudice or unfair behavior.
  • GRIP reduces the burden of police apathy, and reduces the lack of general information on the process.
  • GRIP informs survivors of their rights as Survivors of Gender-Based Violence and their legal options.
  • GRIP ensures that the survivor will be helped free of charge if she/he does not have money to pay for the interdict.

5. Profile of an Abuser:

  • Most abusers are from the opposite sex but females are also abusers.
  • Average age of the abuser is 35, but some are as young as 14 and some as old as 76.
  • Partner or Ex-Partner are the most common relationship of the abuser.
  • The Husband is the most common abuser and the child of the survivor the second most common with the third most common person to commit domestic abuse was the sibling.
  • Abusers are usually employed and have a financial power over the survivor.
  • Some abusers do own at least one fire arm and threatened to use or had used a firearm on the survivor.

6. Profile of the Abuse:

Domestic Violence can take on many forms and falls into five main categories:

6.1 Physical Abuse:

  • Pushing or kicking
  • Hitting, slapping or punching
  • Defecating or urinating on applicant
  • Choking and suffocating.
  • Hurting children or other family members
  • Threatening with a knife, gun or other weapon.

6.2 Emotional/ Verbal Abuse:

  • Threats to harm or kill survivor or members of the family
  • Controlling of movement of the survivor
  • Harassment
  • False accusations (e.g. of prostitution or extramarital affairs)
  • Humiliation
  • Verbal insults

6.3 Damage to property included:

  • Breaking doors down.
  • Throwing and breaking furniture
  • Destroying cell phones
  • Destroying any property belonging to applicant.

6.4 Economic abuse :

  • Money taken from survivor without consent or the survivor being forced to hand over money.
  • Exclusive control over family finances.
  • Abuse over expenditure.

6.5 Sexual abuse included:

  • Tried to kiss or touch applicant
  • Forced sexual intercourse.
  • Forced victim to look at or touch abuser's genitals.

60% of the time the abuser is accompanied by additional alcohol abuse problems.
50% of women indicate that they had been seriously injured by the perpetrator and were in need of medical attention during the last incident.

7. Perceived behavioral changes in children affected by domestic violence.

Behavioural change Percentage of children where behaviour change was noted.
Depression 60%
Crying 37%
Temper Tantrums 30%
Withdrawal 23%
Fighting at school and or with siblings 17%
Sleep disruption, bed wetting 10%
Damaging property at home or outside home 3%
Stuttering 3%

Absenteeism from school due to domestic violence in the home could be seen as a more accurate measure of the effects of violence in home.

8. Times when the survivor felt afraid of the perpetrator:

Times when perpetrator is feared Percentage of women who affirmed fear in different instances.
When perpetrator is drunk 71%
When perpetrator uses abusive language 35%
When perpetrator is angry/frustrated 32%
Outside the home/public places, in the presence of other people. 21%
When alone with perpetrator 18%
Over the weekends 12%
When perpetrator has a weapon 12%

90% women confirmed that the more tolerant of the abuse they became the worse it got.

9. Nature of complaint against the perpetrator:

Nature of complaint Percentage of complaints
Assault 66.7%
Damage to property 29.2%
Common Assault 20.8%
Housebreaking 8.3%
Sexual assault/rape 4.2%
Attempted murder 4.2%

10. Court experience and the role of the Court in Domestic Violence:

Through the help of GRIP survivors are helped to obtain protection orders and to set a high standard of service. The Friends of the Court will assist the survivors of domestic violence at the court in filling out the application form for a protection order. Survivors must also receive a written notice describing the DVA and indicating their rights. GRIP will advocate for these survivors and will network with the Justice Department in ensuring that survivors will received an interim order on the same day that s/he filled out the application form. GRIP regards obtaining of protection orders as urgent and we advocate for the length of time taken to obtain the order to be efficient and not the compromise the survivors' safety. The waiting period can have negative effects on some of the women applying for protection orders, which may deter others from doing the same. In many cases the perpetrators do not show up for their magistrate hearing.

The study done by the Lawyers for Human Rights proved that survivors indicated that the magistrate had not made them feel like the incident was their fault. The court did show interest in the survivor's situation and the magistrate had allowed the survivor to explain her side of the story. It is also reassuring for the survivor to know that the Police must serve the order to the perpetrator.

GRIP will also ensure security within the court while the abuser is present. GRIP reduces a lack of information regarding the order and its purpose and enforces a cost-free process for those who cannot afford to pay.

Many women of domestic violence feel that rather to arrest the abusers; the court must take a stronger role in rehabilitation and counseling. Some women feel that their abusers should be sent for psychological evaluation and rehabilitation at a treatment centre.

11. Perceptions of domestic violence and tolerance of domestic violence:

  • Survivors of domestic violence should not feel ashamed and they deserve compassion.
  • No survivor of domestic violence deserves abuse.
  • Some survivors of domestic violence do face rejection form families.
  • Some survivors of domestic violence lose respect in their communities.
  • Some survivors do face verbal abuse or teasing in their communities.
  • Some survivors do become subject to gossip by community members.

Women are slowly learning their rights, because they report abuse to the police or courts and stand up to their abusers. This suggests that the traditional notions of keeping personal problems private and the isolation that abused women often feel are being challenged. This suggests that increasing community recognition of abuse and growing social acceptance in discussing the issue is taking place. However, despite such trends towards a growing awareness towards the wrongness of abuse many of the survivors still feel that they themselves and their communities were highly tolerant of abuse. Most survivors indicated that this was because they were dependent of their husbands for financial support and shelter and thus could not afford to lose them if they reported the abuse.

Despite the abuse, many of the participants felt closely attached to their marriage and still sought the love of their husbands, making them afraid to risk losing these things by reporting abuse. Similarly, because of their attachment to the marriage/relationship, several of the participants hoped that the abuse would eventually blow over or that if they were determined then love and commitment could help end the abuse.

Other reasons for tolerance were fear of further abuse and having abuse directed at their children. Several women who are afraid to report or respond to abuse don't want to risk having any anger taken out on their children.

Research has found that many women who are abused were raised in abusive households and, therefore, are considerably more predisposed to abusive relationships later in life. Girls who witness their mother's abuse have a higher rate of becoming battered as adults.

12. Causes of Home Violence:

The following reasons are described by survivors:

  • Alcohol and drug dependency
  • Unemployment
  • Bad upbringing
  • Jealousy and rudeness

13. Reasons for leaving the abuser:

Many women said that they could not stand continued abuse and that it was not worth if for them to stay in the relationship. The continued abuse made them fear for their lives.

Some survivors refuse to leave because they have nowhere else to go or refused to give up their homes. Sometimes it is however the abuser who leaves, due to a divorce, moving in with another wife, or because they are scared of the protection order or police.

14. Reaction from the perpetrator when the Abused made Efforts to obtain Protection Orders.

Some of the abusers chose to completely ignore the order while others ran away; leaving some women empowered by their actions and others frustrated by the lack of security the protection order gave them. Amongst abusers who responded angrily many expressed anger that the women would disrespect or disregard them in such a way. Many of the abusers who remained angry and abusive despite the protection said that neither the order, nor the police scared them. In some of these cases the abusers even increased the intensity or frequency of their abuse in defiance of the order. Other women had commented that their abusers had continued to beat them as usual and made them feel particularly bad about their decision and, in one case, the abuser even tore up the copy of the order to show that it was not important.

Although the order failed to stop or even reduce the abuse for some women, other survivors indicated that the order had a considerable effect on their abusers. These women commented that their abusers were afraid of the law and did not want to go to jail.

15. The role of the Police in Domestic Violence:

Many women feel that police do not take calls of abuse seriously or are not in a position to respond adequately. Therefore SAPS allows GRIP to manage the Victim Friendly Facilities independently on a 24 hour, 7 day a week basis. Some of the women were of the opinion that the police were too lenient with abusers, while others indicated that they believed strong punishment was necessary for the abusers to understand the significance of their crime. Some women feel that their abusers were not being dealt with correctly by the police and that a stronger response was necessary. A great deal of women felt that, in general, spending time in jail would give abusers more perspective on the importance of the crime they had committed.

At SAPS stations where GRIP is operating, survivors are provided with better information and knowledge for the survivor. The police station can then focuses on the perpetrator and inform him/her on his/her rights.

16. Closure:

The study showed that the majority of the survivors described the positive impact of the protection order on their home life. They felt that their homes were calmer and safer places where their abusers were either absent or more respectful than they had previously been. Please find as addendum the Domestic Violence questionnaire available at GRIP Rooms.

clicker here for Domestic Violence questionnaire