Should GBV victims be forced to report their abuse?

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a recurring theme in the South African social ecosystem and there’s a lot of talk about doing something about it but the figures remain worrying.

Ironically, it seems as though Women’s’ Month creates the platform for talk but not much in the form of action, so now that we’re faced with just under a year before the next set of talkshops, perhaps it’s an ideal time to discuss implementing solutions about the country’s alarming GBV stats.

It’s the common back and forth between maintaining the social narrative that we don’t want victims to relive their trauma, but still expect legal consequences for perpetrators of violence.

If the law must take its course, something has to give, but it’s impossible to expect progress in the midst of silence.

Many question how we can encourage more victims to speak out and whether we can make it a legal expectation.

The law is also no stranger to compelling speaking out about crimes. The most common examples include when there’s an abuse against a child and when one is aware of an act of high treason. In both of those instances, one can face a criminal action if one fails to report the crime.

Would it be time to start considering placing GBV in the same category? In other words, should we force victims to head to the cops and report their abuser?

Like many legal quick fixes, on face value it may have its appeal…unless you’re a victim who really doesn’t want to come forward.

Would it be a sustainable fix though?

An interesting phenomenon occurs whenever we enact a new law. No matter what the nature of that new law is, the result will always be some form of forfeiture of freedom. In many cases, this is justified by the outcome.

When we outlaw murder, I forfeit my freedom to kill you and you forfeit your freedom to kill me. It seems like a great trade off.

It would be reasonable then to ask what the outcome of forcing victims to report their abuses will be, and whether it justifies forfeiting the freedom to choose not to report it.

One may guess that it will result in increased reports, but what good is that when the current number of reports have low conviction rates? More importantly, for those who choose not to report, does it justify turning them into criminals?

Already we’re facing a terrible situation where trafficked women are too afraid to report their situation because by being forced into prostitution, they could be convicted of a crime due to the callous nature of our socioeconomic legal setup. Is it worth turning more victims into criminals to try and force more reports, of which many may lead to nothing?

It really sucks when people opt out of a legal system because they don’t believe in it, but you can’t legislate their belief back into being. One must show the effect of the system and that doesn’t necessarily mean changing any laws. It may mean simply making the current laws accessible.

We appear to be on the right path with specialisation and dedicated police services to this cause, albeit very slow, but what good is that when so many have already opted out?

The solution here is not to force anything, but develop a long lost trust in a system. The system must admit that there’s little it can do to prevent an assault from happening.

That’s another conversation we need to have. Once it’s done that, it must show that it’s delivered justice to those who have been assaulted.

The NPA has gotten pretty good at telling its stories and I’ve been enjoying their press releases about successful convictions through their social media.

If only we had more stories to tell about how justice came to be for the victims of GBV, and how easy it was, we’d be far more encouraging to victims who want to speak out but feel disempowered.

The solution to more convictions is not to force people into a system they don’t believe in. It’s to show people why they could and should believe in the system.

Richard Anthony Chemaly is an entertainment attorney, radio broadcaster and lecturer of communication ethics.

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