How to be a proactive police officer and help prevent family violence

It is ongoing (not once-off) and occurs in a cycle called the cycle of violence with three distinct phases

• the tension-building phase
• the acute battering phase
• the honeymoon phase

The woman usually seeks the assistance of the law between the acute battering phase and the honeymoon period when she is particularly emotionally vulnerable.

Battered women may be suffering from battered woman syndrome. When women learn that they cannot control their abuser's violence, they begin to believe they cannot influence it or escape it. They suffer from psychological symptoms such as low self-esteem, dependence, depression, flashbacks and learned helplessness, and come to believe they are to blame for the violence they experience. After a cycle of beatings which they have not been able to prevent, they become helpless. They believe their abuser is all-powerful and nothing - not even the law can stop him.

Domestic violence increases in severity over time unless some kind of intervention is sought to break the cycle of violence.

Women are reluctant to use the legal system to solve their problems for a number of reasons:

• the law and the law enforcement agents are often seen to victimize them further by treating the problem as a domestic squabble and referring them for marital counselling
• they are most at danger from their abusers who may kill them if they try to leave them or seek intervention
• most women cannot afford the costs of using the legal system
• the legal system does not offer women solutions that are compatible with their needs (ie. she may not want him to be fined or jailed, simply for the violence to stop)

Domestic violence is difficult to prove because the assault usually happens in the home without eye-witnesses. Battered women may not co-operate with the police and may lay charges one day and withdraw them the next. They may also make a very poor witness in the witness box as they may be easily intimidated by the abuser's defence counsel.

The Prevention of Family Violence Act

• prevent abuse of women and children
• provide a simple remedy
• provide speedy justice
• avoid high costs to women

The Procedure in the Act

1. If a woman is living with a person who abuses her, whether she is married to him or not, and even if she is divorced from him and living apart from him, shc can go to the Magistrates Court and apply for an interdict. If she cannot go herself someone else who has an interest in her safety (a child, a mother, a friend, a neighbour) can go on her behalf. She does not need an attorney or an advocate.

2. The clerk of the court will assist her to make a statement on oath that she has been abused. She should give as much detail as she can. If she has a doctor's letter or a social worker's report or photographs of her injuries, she should take them with her. If she has ever reported her abuser's behaviour to the police, she should tell the clerk.

3. The interdict is then issued by the Magistrate, and will prohibit the abuser from assaulting or threatening the woman or prohibit him from entering the home. A suspensive warrant of arrest is attached to the interdict so that as soon as the interdict is breached and the woman has made a sworn statement to that effect, the warrant of arrest becomes operative.

4. If she can afford it, the woman will have to pay the sheriff's fees which can range from R30 - R250 depending on where it must be served. If she cannot afford these fees, she should tell the Magistrate who must then order the state to pay the sheriff's fees or the police to serve the interdict free of charge.

5. Once the interdict has been served on the abuser he is bound by it. If he breaches the interdict by assaulting her or threatening her, she must go to the nearest police station and tell the police. The police are supposed to arrest the man immediately and bring him before a magistrate within 24 hours. The magistrate will question the man and decide whether he is guilty of an offence. If he is found guilty, he can be fined or imprisoned for up to 12 months.

At What Stages are the Police Involved and How Can The Police Officer Assist?

1. Before She Gets an Interdict

   A woman may over a period of time, report incidences of abuse at a police station, even though she may withdraw the charges the next day .

   How should the police respond?

   • the police officer should open a docket and give the woman a case number, taking down her statement with as much detail as possible
   • the police officer should inform the woman that she can get an interdict against her abuser at the Magistates' Court and should describe the procedure to her
   • if she is injured, the police officer should ask her whether she has a doctor who can examine her. If she says no, the police officer should arrange for her to see a District Surgeon so that a medical report can be made our documenting her injuries. This is important evidence if the case ever goes to court.
   • if the woman has been threatened with a firearm by her abuser, the police should, in accordance with the Arms and Ammunitions Act 1969, seize such firearm. The police have the power to declare a person unfit to possess a firearm and may prevent domestic violence by seizing the firearm.
   A police officer should NOT refuse to investigate assault charges even if the women has not yet secured an interdict.

2. After She Gets an Interdict

   A woman may, after she has secured an interdict, report at the police station that her abuser has breached the terms of the interdict.She presents a copy of the interdict to the police officer.

   How should the police respond?

   The police should arrest the abuser and bring him before a magistrate within 24 hours (if there is a substantial delay in arresting the abuser, this defeats one of the aims of the Act which is to protect the woman in a speedy manner).

   A police officer is NOT authorized to release the abuser on warning. It is only the judge or magistrate who has the authority to release the abuser in terms of section 3(2)9(a) of the Act.

   Where the woman claims that she has secured an interdict, but she does not have a copy with her, the police officer should:

   • establish the reasons why she does not have a copy of the interdict (the sheriff may not have returned a copy to her or her abuser may have destroyed it)
   • phone the clerk of the court at which the interdict was issued to find out whether there are any court records of the interdict
   • get the woman to make a sworn statement to the police officer that an interdict was in fact issued. The police officer should inform the woman, without intimidating her, that if she is not telling the truth, she can be prosecuted for perjury
   • arrest the abuser and act as if a copy of the interdict was shown to him or her by the woman

3. Threats to Assault or Kill the Woman

   At any time, a woman may phone a police station or arrive there herself and claimthat she is in danger because her partner has threatened to assault or kill her.

   How should the police respond?

   • the police should treat domestic violence very seriously and should accompany the woman to the scene of the assault
   • the police should warn the abuser that assult of a partner is a serious crime and he can be fined or sent to jail if convicted and that a threat to assault a partner can amount to an assault if the victim believes that the perpetrator can and will carry out his threats
   • the police should view the abuser's remarks that his wife started the fight and that they are just having a domestic squabble with scepticism
   • the police should not accept bribes from the abuser to leave the scene or to leave his wife with him
   • the police should inform the woman that if she is in danger, she should contact a woman's organization for counselling or shelter (see list of names and numbers at the end)

   Threats by abusers to kill their spouses should be viewed as dangerous. Many of the cases of femicide (where husbands or boyfriends kill their wives or girlfriends) are the result of many years of abuse where the law has failed to protect the woman adequately. Sometimes where women perceive that the law is not protecting them, they may resort to killing the abuser themselves. These situations where people take the law into their own hands should be avoided at all costs.

4. Requests For Police Escourt

   At any stage, a woman may phone a police station or arrive there herself and request a police escourt to her house so she may remove her belongings which her partner or husband has threatened to destroy.

   How should the police respond?

   • wherever possible, the police should offer to escourt a battered woman to her home if she feels she is in danger and needs protection from her abuser. If it is not possible to go immediately, the police officer should arrange a time that suits him or her to accompany the woman to her home. This type of assistance is greatly appreciated by women and with time, will increase the number of reported cases as women begin to trust police officers.

5. In What Other Ways Can the Police Help?
   • to create an atmosphere of trust with an abused women, it is important that the police officer with whom she has contact asures her that s/he believes her story and lets her know that she is not the only person to whom this has happened.
   • try not to be judgemental about her, especially in cases where she herself abuses alchohol or other substances, where she is poor, where she does not speak English, Afrikaans or the language the police officer speaks very well
   • let her know of the remedies she can pursue in order to try and escape from her situation: inform her about the Prevention of Family Violence Act; about women's organizations that may be able to help. Put her in touch with Legal Aid services if she cannot afford a lawyer.

Some important contact numbers:

Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre,
P O Box 31006,
Braamfontein 2017
Tel: +27 11 403 4267/70
Fax: +27 11 403 4275