GBV activists hope the Public Protector’s GBV report carries weight

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Director of Wise Collective, Advocate Brenda Madumise-Pajibo, says she hopes that action will be taken following the findings from the Public Protector that confirmed that there is inadequate support for Gender Based Violence victims.

This after the Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, released her report about government’s ineffectiveness in dealing with GBV cases after she investigated 38 Magistrate’s Courts across the country.

The report found allegations that the Department of Justice did not put adequate measures in place to protect victims of gender-based violence effectively are substantiated.

“When we tell South Africa about the injustice that is meted against gender violence victims and survivors and why is it that we have a low reporting threshold in this country is because of things like this. Where you go and report a crime committed against you and it takes you three to five years for you to get justice or even not even to get justice precisely because the systems are not working at all and they’re systemic failures throughout the entire criminal justice system,” said Madumise-Pajibo

Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka will brief the media on findings on the difficulties experienced by victims of gender-based violence (#GBV) when reporting their cases at magistrates’ courts across the country.#EndGBVF pic.twitter.com/AWPG2tiPdp

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) June 4, 2024

Magistrate’s courts not adequately equipped to support victims of GBV: Public Protector