Domestic violence: Week 2

It’s week 2 of domestic violence education.

This week we will focus on four points namely your options if abused; what a protection order is; who may apply for an order and the police’s commitment to the victim.

What are your options if abused?

You have the right to –

• apply for a protection order at the nearest police station or magistrates’ court; or

• lay a criminal charge at the police station, as well as apply for a protection order.

What is a protection order?

It is an order issued by a court at your request, ordering a person with whom you have or had a domestic relationship, to stop the abuse and may also prevent the person from getting help from any other person to commit such acts. An interim protection order can also be issued, day or night, to protect you from danger.

Who may apply for an order?

• Any victim of domestic violence

• Children, and if they are too young, the parent or guardian, as well as any person on behalf of someone they are responsible for, but with their permission

• A police official.

The SAPS’ commitment to the victim:

It is the commitment of the SAPS to treat a victim of domestic violence with sensitivity and care. We will –

• treat you with respect and dignity;

• listen to what you have to say;

• not insult or blame you or suggest that it was your own fault that you were abused;

• assist you with empathy and care;

• inform you of your rights and options. To ensure that this has been done, we will ask that you sign the Occurrence Book at the police station;

• provide you with a notice in a language you understand, and explain how you should proceed;

• make an effort to find someone to address you in a language you understand;

• take your statement in privacy and not in the presence of the abuser or the public;

• decide, on the basis of your statement, whether to arrest the abuser and take his/her firearm as well as determine your needs and how to assist you;

• serve a protection order on the person against whom it was made as directed by the court;

• keep a copy of the protection order and record every arrest made as proof for you; and

• note your complaint in the Incident Register at the station as further proof of your reporting the matter – this will also enable us to give a report on the progress in your case.