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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 357
357. Mrs. H Lamoela (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Development:
(1) With reference to his reply to question 1742 on 19 August
2013, what was the outcome of the National Workshop which was
held in September 2013;
(2) has the Gender and Sexual Orientation-based Violence Task
Team (GSOVTT) held any meetings after the specified National
Workshop; if not, why not; if so, (a) on what date, (b) at
which venue was each specified meeting held, (c) who attended
each specified meeting and (d) what issues were discussed;
(3) has he undertaken the Research Study on lesbian, gay,
transgender, bisexual and intersex (LGTBI) issues; if not,
why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(4) (a) how many LGTBI Social Context Information Sessions were
held, (b) where did they take place and (c) who were the
attendees;
(5) (a) how many presiding officers were given social context
training, (b) when did the training take place and (c) where
did this training take place? NW411E
REPLY:-
I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the purpose of the
national workshop in September 2013 was to provide a progress report
to the LGBTI National Task Team on the work undertaken thus far. The
outcomes of the workshop of the National Task Team held on 18-19
September 2013 were the following:
a) The Terms of Reference of the National Task Team was approved and
adopted.
b) The report on the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex
Situational Analysis in courts commissioned by the National Task Team
was adopted and informed the development of the National Intervention
Strategy on Gender and Sexual Orientation Based Violence against LGBTI
persons.
c) The Strategic Work plan for 2012/13 on the following strategic areas:
public education and communication, development of training materials,
civil society alliance building workshops and case-flow management
regarding long outstanding and pending LGBTI cases relating to gender
and sexual orientation based violence in the criminal justice system,
was approved and implementation thereof is at an advanced stage.
d) Progress on the list of pending LGBTI cases in the criminal justice
system was noted.
e) The communication strategy developed by the Department in
collaboration with the Government Communication Information Service
was approved and adopted.
f) A presentation on the development of the National Intervention
Strategy on Gender-based and Sexual-Orientation based Violence against
LGBTI persons was made. Inputs were received and incorporated into
the draft strategy.
g) The National Task Team also approved the proposal that the Department
convene workshops with LGBTI organizations in all provinces, the
purpose of which was to:
Increase provincial civil society representation on the National
Task Team.
i) To build solidarity amongst different sectorsâincluding government
departments and civil society organisations.
ii) To understand the local dynamics of violence against LGBTI persons.
iii) To report on existing criminal cases and the Rapid Response Strategy
developed by the National Task team.
In terms of the terms of reference of the National Task Team, meetings are
to take place on a quarterly basis. Due to the provincial consultations
that were held across the country from December 2013 to March 2014, a
National Task Team meeting was not held as members were attending these
workshops. The Department intends holding the next National Task Team
Meeting during the first quarter of the new financial year. The Honorable
Memberâs attention is also drawn to the preparatory meetings held by the
Working Group of the National Task Team. Following the National Task Team
workshop held in September 2013, the Working Group has met on the following
dates:
i) 22-23 October 2013;
ii) 13 November 2013;
iii) 30 January 2014; and
iv) 7 March 2014.
The Department conducted a situational analysis research study and
finalised it in September 2012. The study focussed on the following key
areas:
i) perceptions of court officials on LGBTI cases;
ii) identification and registration of cases involving LGBTI witnesses;
iii) statistical account of these cases;
iv) issues related to secondary victimisation; and
v) causes for delays in the finalisation of these cases.
The objective of the report was to:
i) Provide the context for reviewing the management of LGBTI cases since
1994.
ii) Review international instruments as far as they are relevant to the SA
situation and LGBTI concerns specifically.
iii) To identify the main conceptual areas for the development of
appropriate instruments for data gathering to ensure a thorough and
rigorous evaluation of the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development at key levels.
iv) Provide an analysis of all relevant legislation with regards to LGBTI
within the criminal justice system that includes the identification of
gaps or inconsistencies.
For the purposes of this report this included data collected from 11
courts in five provinces. Data was gathered from interviews with 33
senior court staff, 165 survey questionnaires administered in courts,
and four focus groups within the JCPS cluster.
In line with its mandate, the Department identified the key focus
areas of the situational analysis to include research into its support
provision that may enable or hamper access to justice and further the
protection of rights for vulnerable persons, in particular LGBTI
persons within the justice system.
During the financial years of 2011/2012, the Department held 24 social
context information sessions countrywide to empower court officials on
social context training relating to promotion and protection of LGBTI
rights. These unpacked the dynamics attached to homosexuality and
provoked open deliberations on constitutional rights, legislative
framework, social norms, values and morality. 1010 court officials were
reached.
(b)These sessions were conducted in all 9 Provinces.
(c) The target was front line staff in courts.
A National Conference was held and attended by 180 Regional Magistrates
and 130 lower court Magistrates. This took place from 2nd to 4th March
2012. at Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg. It opened deliberations around
the exercise of judicial leadership in a courtroom to engender greater
sensitivity to the special needs of the LGBTI witnesses.
