Public protector probe confirms inadequate GBV measures by justice department

Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has found that allegations that the department of justice and constitutional development did not put adequate measures in place to protest victims of GBV are substantiated.

Gcaleka on Tuesday released a report on findings on the difficulties experienced by GBV victims when reporting their cases at magistrate’s courts across the country.

The public protector inspected 38 courts across the country.

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Her investigation found that the 38 courts have failed to provide a supportive environment for victims.

Most of these courts do not have functional case management systems in place, said the public protector.

“The 38 courts inspected by the public protector, with the exception of the Point Branch Family Court in KwaZulu-Natal, are not kept in an operational manner that support effective service delivery as envisaged in the government immovable asset management act,” said the public protector.

Some of the court buildings, including those in Garankuwa, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Piet Retief and East London, are old and dilapidated.

Some of the recently renovated courts have structural defects such as cracks on the walls and leaking roofs, she found.

There are also inadequate office equipment such as malfunctioning telephone lines, switchboards, air conditioners, persistent network problems, broken photocopiers and shared computers.

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“They do not have a fully functional integrated case management system, resulting in manual capturing of cases. The integrated case management system is mostly inaccessible or slow due to network challenges.”

The public protector has given the department 210 days to conduct an audit on the state of courts in South Africa.

Public protector report welcomed

Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development John Jeffreys said although the department welcomed the public protector’s report, the country’s courts are built and maintained by the department of public works.

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“However, the bottom line is that we can’t say gender-based violence is the second pandemic for our country and not ensure that the government agencies do as much as they can to ensure proper service,” said Jeffreys.

He further conceded that while judicial officers, magistrates and judges are trained by the South African Judicial Education Institute on handling GBV cases, more could still be done.

In the lower courts, judgments get reviewed and and magistrates monitored, he said.

“Some of them are acting magistrates who haven’t had much training, but what’s important is, there seem to be a problem of a bad attitude,” said Jeffreys.

The public protector said her office would launch an investigation into the rise in GBV cases and child support grants in the country.

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“Child support grants are starting to contribute to GBV, where men insist that the money paid for child support must also benefit them. They don’t understand that the money is meant for the upbringing and benefit of the child, not necessarily the parents,” she said.