Children who are exposed to domestic violence are now protected by the new Domestic Violence Act, which took effect on April 14. The Act also offers a new definition of domestic abuse which will alter how these types of cases are handled in South Africa’s legal system.
In terms of ‘expose a child to domestic violence’ the Act “means to intentionally cause a child to see or hear domestic violence; or experience the effects of domestic violence”
It further states that; “An adult person who knows, or believes or suspects on reasonable grounds, that an act of domestic violence has been committed against a child, a person with a disability or an older person, must report such knowledge, belief or suspicion as soon as possible, to a social worker or the South African Police Service.”
Lawyer, Eugene Opperman, the founder director of Oppermans Inc, a specialist family law practice with more than 23 years' experience, will host a free workshop on Saturday, May 6, to provide an in-depth overview of the changes to the Act. Changes include expanded definitions of domestic violence and new protections for victims, including amendments to the obtaining of protection orders, increased penalties for perpetrators, and the role of law enforcement in responding to domestic violence.
He said the workshop would feature presentations from legal experts in the field, as well as interactive discussions and case studies to help participants better understand the practical implications of the changes to the Act.
"We believe this workshop will be of great benefit to legal professionals who work with domestic violence victims, including lawyers, candidate attorneys, social workers, legal advice offices, students, and members of the public. It is an opportunity to stay up-to-date on the latest legal developments in this critical area of law, and to learn from leading experts in the field,“ Opperman said.
He said there were many definitions to which the act had been extended, such as economic abuse, and that people always thought abuse involved assault or sexual abuse.
"There’s also invisible forms of abuse, like abuse by using technology where they steal your email login, and cohesive behaviour, and controlling behaviour. The Act also includes elder abuse as a form of domestic violence, which is absolutely fantastic because this is also a vulnerable sector of our community.
“There's also a section where they said that if a child is exposed to domestic abuse with any exposure to any form, or can feel or experience the effects of domestic abuse, then that is considered to be an act of domestic abuse, which is absolutely brilliant because now we have the protection of the children as well,” Opperman said.
Felicity Guest, an advocate against financial abuse and the creator of the Child Maintenance Difficulties in South Africa Facebook group, welcomed the Act but said it would be interesting to see how well it was put into practice.
“The inclusion of the ability to provide maintenance into the maintenance order is significant because when a victim leaves an abusive relationship, she is not only vulnerable physically but also financially, and for the months after because that is when we see a high rate of femicide and physical abuse. Furthermore, having legislation is useless if we are not going to use it, which they had not done up until this point,” she said.
Guest said the addition of cohesive behaviour and controlling behaviour to the law would help with prosecutions for economic and financial abuse.