Nothing must stop victims of domestic violence to report it to the police.
Such victims must never subdue to domestic violence; and nor the fear of intimidation, the fear of not being believed, the stigma associated with sexual abuse or offence, or challenges to access police stations, must stop them to use the services provided by the South African Police Service.
This is a plea from the provincial commissioner for the Northern Cape, Lt Gen. Koliswa Otola, who identified gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) crimes as one of her top priorities to prevent and combat.
“This is evident in the number of GBVF related sentences that our courts in the Northern Cape are imposing on perpetrators of these crimes investigated by the 16 Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units across the province,” stated Sgt Timothy Sam, police spokesperson, who explains more of the process.
Place of protection order in law
The police afford a victim of domestic violence protection from abuse in domestic relationships and must assist the victim to get a protection order against the abuser.
The protection order is an order of the court that prohibits the abuser from committing more acts of domestic violence against a victim. If contravened, the abuser may be arrested and appear in court.
The public must note that one can apply for a protection order if you are abused by somebody with whom you are in a domestic relationship, or apply for a protection order on behalf of someone else who is a victim of domestic violence, or any person who is concerned that you are abused, including a social worker, a teacher, a health worker or a police service member.
If the police treat you badly or delivers poor service, make a formal complaint to the local station commander, the Inspectorate Unit of the police or lodge a complaint with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, which has the power to investigate misconduct claims against the police.
Victims of GBVF can contact the following lines:
- Stop Gender Violence Helpline: Hotline 0800 150 150;
- Child Line: 0800 055 555;
- SAPS crime stop: 08600 10111; and
- SAPS Service Complaints Call Centre toll free number: 0800 333 177.
Sam remarked that it is important to note that abuse is not only between a man and a woman, where the man is the abuser and the woman the victim.
The person who is abusing, can be a man or a woman. Women can abuse other women; men can abuse other men; and women can also abuse men.
Child abuse is profoundly serious, and must be reported to the police immediately, Sam concluded.
