The National Department of Justice and Constitutional Development reckons positive signs can be found that South Africans are changing their attitude towards the gender-based violence (GBV) phenomenon.
Speaking to Limpopo Mirror during a GBV campaign that was held at the Christian Worship Church at Maniini on Tuesday, 29 November, the department's media liaison officer, Mr Max Mpuzana, said that they were focusing more on the attitude of members of the community. "People's attitude influences the actions they take. Bad attitudes inflame harm in the community," he said.
When asked what the government, especially the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, was doing to deal with habitual GBV offenders who were too often let out on bail by the courts and then went back to the community and continued committing crime, he said that bail would not be given by the police or prosecutors anymore.
He said that President Cyril Ramaphosa had led a GBV conference at the St George's Hotel in 2018, where one of the demands was for government to strengthen legislation to fight matters of gender-based violence. Ramaphosa approved three GBV Amendment Acts, which have now become part of the law in the Republic of South Africa.
"As we speak, the police and prosecutors don't have the authority to grant bail to suspects anymore. Suspects now have to appear before a court of law to apply for bail and the court alone has the authority to grant or deny it," he said.
According to Mpuzana, the department is also out there to teach South Africans about the need to respect the human rights of other people. "Together we can defeat gender-based violence in this country, if everyone plays their part."
Mpuzana added that the new laws criminalised "bystanderism" and children exposed to violence. Bystanderism is when a person or people do not intervene, even when they are aware of another person's needs, for example, not reporting it to authorities when someone is being abused. The new laws also incriminate adults who fight in front of children. Anyone who exposes children to acts of domestic violence is liable for prosecution.