Progress Report on Implementation of domestic violence act and Maintenance Act; Customary Law of Succession: briefing

Meeting report

JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF WOMEN
22 August 2001
PROGRESS REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT & MAINTENANCE ACT; CUSTOMARY LAW OF SUCCESSION: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Ms P Govender

Relevant Documents:
Summary of Report of Domestic Violence
Presentation on Maintenance Act
CALS document on Customary Law of Succession

SUMMARY
The Department of Justice reported on the implementation progress of the Domestic Violence Act and the Maintenance Act.

The priority of gender sensitivity training at all levels, from officers to departmental officials, in police, justice and health departments was acknowledged. The present training program involved 1800 trainees and aimed to reach all officers and administrative staff. There is a lack of a budget for personnel, a lack of available resources such as shelters and the need for donor funding to implement training programs. A situational analysis was called for to determine the costing of the entire machinery necessary to support the Domestic Violence Act. The Director General said that the next financial year would see a dramatic jump in the budgetary allocation for implementation of the Domestic Violence Act.

Since the passing of the Maintenance Act in 1998, not a single maintenance investigator has been appointed to the courts due to financial constraints. A total break-down of the cost for implementing the Act over a five-year period has been made. However, there is insufficient funding to carry out this total implementation until 2039. The Department of Justice was asked to return to clarify what commitment was being made to implement the legislation, not only the limitations on implementation.

The Center for Applied Legal Studies gave a presentation on Customary Law of Succession.

MINUTES
Implementation of Domestic Violence Act
Mr Vusi Pikoli , Director General: Department of Justice, discussed the process of implementation of the new legislation, including time frame and costing estimates of the legislation process. Mr Pikoli emphasised the importance of interdepartmental co-operation and the priority of gender sensitivity training at all levels, from officers to departmental officials.

Ms Joyce Maluleke from the Gender Directorate of the Department of Justice pointed out the problem of an unreformed attitude in court personnel. She asked the Committee to assist the Directorate in lobbying for personnel, explaining that it is not only the Department of Justice that has a role in relation to court personnel but that this is a problem of the police, justice and health departments. She also made reference to the lack of available resources to assist victims. Since many of these women had insufficient funds and no alternative shelter, many of the victims are forced to return to the shelter of the perpetrator, rendering the protection order ineffective.

Questions
Ms P Govender addressed the Gender Directorate asking for more detail regarding the resources available to the directorate itself, and current statistics of domestic violence. A situational analysis was called for, so as to determine the costing of the entire machinery necessary to support the Domestic Violence Act.

A member commented on budgetary constraints, asking firstly if the Department had realistically structured its objectives according to the current budget, and secondly commenting on the lack of focus on provincial problems, where she was unsure that implementations had been worked out for these provinces. Another member mentioned the lengthy court process, and posed the question of domestic violence cases being allowed to ‘jump the queue’.

The Director General responded that there is a need for the Cabinet to fully consider the implications of legislative implementations before implementation takes place. He gave a partial break-down of the budget. The next financial year would see a dramatic jump in the budgetary allocation. The question of domestic violence was a priority of the government. He explained that it aimed at sensitizing all relevant departments to this issue, in accordance with the cluster organisation of ministries of justice, crime prevention and security. In response to the question of provinces Mr Pikoli noted that there was not as strong a structure in place as at national level. Ms Maluleke added that there are plans to train one magistrate and one prosecutor in rural areas.

Ms Joyce Maluleke explained that the Domestic Violence Act has opened the eyes of the department to the difficulty of the implementation of legislation. It required a lot more resources, and pervades the entire justice system. Thus there is still a need for a proper cost analysis taking into account the full spectrum of the legislation. Ms P Govender asked whether there is an actual costing unit in the cabinet, and whether costing is being done in each section of the cluster, as well as requesting a time frame for costing. Ms Maleleke affirmed the presence of a costing unit within the department, and said the question of a joint budget for the cluster was being discussed, along with the costing time frame.

A call was made for statistics on rape and domestic violence. The Department explained that the manual collection of statistics makes any exact statements about the real situation difficult. Until the e-justice program to automate the Department of Justice was complete, the current statistics remained unreliable. Ms P Govender asked about the possibility of using the gender desk of STATS SA. Ms Maluleke said that an enquiry had been made, but that an approach still needed to be agreed upon.

One member commented on complaints of the unhelpful attitude of prosecutors trained to handle domestic violence. What is the use of this training if no transformation takes place? On the question of attitudes, Mr Pikoli emphasised that this was a social issue cutting across all cultures and that the misconduct of officials and judges was a constant concern. The present training program involved 1800 trainees and aimed to reach all officers and administrative staff.

One member suggested the measure of removing perpetrators from the home instead of the victims of violence, a measure which the USA has taken.

Ms J Maluleke explained that the shelters were not owned by the Department but by NGOs supported by the Welfare budget. Furthermore 60% of the Domestic Violence employees in the courts are volunteers from the NGO sector. She once again emphasised the lack of a budget for personnel, and the need for donor funding to implement training programs. The possibility of the eviction of the (male) perpetrator is dependent on whether the perpetrator pays the board.

Implementation of Maintenance Act
Mr Clive Barrows of the Department of Justice gave a report on the implementation of the Maintenance Act, passed in 1998. Since then not a single maintenance investigator has been appointed to the courts due to financial constraints. He expressed his conviction that investment in a maintenance system is critical to improving society in general, was a crucial aspect of addressing the justice system as part of the legacy of our past, as this is the very same system responsible for implementing the pass laws.

He broke the Act down into costed projects: appointment of maintenance investigators: R42 844 million; training of 2 850 clerks, magistrates, administrators: R22 million; Information Management; and Communication and Education. A total break-down of the cost for implementing the Act over a five-year period has been made. However, there is insufficient funding to carry out this total implementation until 2039. Mr Barrows said that when the Department approached the Poverty Alleviation Fund, it was told that the Maintenance Act is not relevant for poverty alleviation.

The Chairperson concluded that budget seemed to be the biggest constraint on implementation. She thanked the Department for their presentation.

Calls were made for the return of the Department of Justice to further clarify what commitment was being made to implement the legislation, not only the limitations on implementation.

Customary Law of Succession: briefing
Ms Likhapha Mbatha, a researcher for the Gender Research Project: Centre for Applied Legal Studies, discussed the need to take into account the implications of the proposed draft bill that women and children will access family property. The fact that succession only takes place when a man dies, not when a woman dies means that often the male heir will keep that property instead of the other siblings. She questioned the way that the law deals with men as a homogenous group. In reference to the need for the reform process to take control of the administration of property by men and to distribute it equally there was a need to broaden the law to include other family members aside from the widow or heir, so as not to exacerbate the problem of homelessness. She said that the implementation of a single system of distribution, with fixed percentages of assets going to the parents, widow, and children was not always practical. There would be a consultation on these issues at a meeting at WITS University on Thursday 30 August.

Questions
A member spoke of the need for input from people ‘on the ground’, further commenting on the end of the extended family, and the need to focus on the nucleus of the mother and her children.
An objection was raised to the suitability of the university to discuss issues related to specific culture and customs. One member quoted an example of a widow in her constituency where the father of the deceased had confiscated the contents of the widow’s home.

Ms Mbatha again emphasised the non-homogenous nature of cases, for example where brothers are in control of the parents property. Ms Mbatha expressed awareness that the meeting at WITS would not be representative, but that the consultations should be treated as intermediaries between the situation on the ground and how the government deals with the issue. Regarding the question of a single system of distribution, she warned against privileging Western ideas of customary law without taking into account the situation here.

The Chairperson requested the resolutions of the WITS meeting to be forwarded to the Committee, and suggested the continuation of this discussion.

The meeting was adjourned.