From police training to victim empowerment: 6 highlights from the security cluster meeting on GBV

The security cluster on Tuesday held a public dialogue on gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) with survivors and activists.

Issues such as police training and the capacity of the system to root out the scourge of GBVF were discussed. Among the government panellists were police minister Bheki Cele, minister of women and persons with disabilities Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, deputy national director of public prosecutions Rodney de Kock and director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) Jennifer Ntlatseng.

Here are six takeaways from the dialogue:

GBV is a priority for the NPA

De Kock said GBV suspects are increasingly being denied bail by the courts and are receiving longer sentences. He said the NPA is also channelling resources towards ensuring effective prosecutions in courts.

“This issue is high on our agenda. It is the most important priority of the prosecution. We place the victims at the centre of the system, that is the approach. The courts are denying bail to perpetrators, the courts are also giving long-term imprisonment, including life sentences, for the perpetrators of violence against women and children.” 

Sexual offences courts

De Kock said specialised sexual offences courts are effective in ensuring fair and just prosecutions of perpetrators of GBV.

“You've got specialised services. You've got prosecutors who are specifically trained to deal with these cases effectively in court and they work in close partnership with the detectives of the family violence units of the police to prepare a case for court.”

Police training — Gen Bongiwe Zulu

Speaking on behalf of the SAPS, Zulu said police officers receive training on dealing with issues of GBV and child abuse as part of their basic training before joining the police force. She said enrolled officers also receive training through internal programmes.

“All police officers during their basic training programme get subjected to gender-based-related programmes to ensure that as they go out there at the client service centre, they are able to provide the required client service.

“We provide them with Domestic Violence Act training, Child Justice Act training, victim empowerment training, human rights policing training and other related programmes to ensure that they are empowered.”

Victim empowerment — Gen Bongiwe Zulu

Zulu said victims are informed about their rights through the six-point plan detailed in posters which are available at police stations. She said these also help remind officers of their expected conduct.

“We are saying in that six-point plan, no victim of GBV should be turned away, and we are also saying they should be treated with respect and dignity. We are also saying they must be interviewed in a victim-friendly support service centre.”

Communities must play their part — Jennifer Ntlatseng

Ntlatseng said she regularly interacts with community-based structures on how to best tackle crime and issues of abuse. She said among the challenges they face is that they don't get credible witnesses, which at times delays the cases.

“We have community policing forums in various police stations and I'm not sure what is their role if we're failing communities. We are communicating with them consistently ... more than anything else, I've said to community-based structures 'start giving us credible witnesses'. People report and make noise about a case and when you go back and say 'I'm asking for witnesses to come forward', no witnesses are coming forward.”

Backlog in cases — Jennifer Ntlatseng

Ntlatseng said there is a backlog in cases and the department is recruiting final-year law and forensic students. They will assist in reducing the backlog and reopening cases closed prematurely.

“We've got a lot of backlog in the department and we need to look at those cases, particularly the prematurely closed cases. Look at them and see how we can beef them up, and if there are outstanding postmortem results, let's look at them and review those cases and send them back for prosecution to NPA.”

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