Hon Deputy Speaker, the intention of this Bill is to ensure that the harassment, better known as stalking, of any person will become an offence, even though no official South African statistics of stalking exist. But we all know that it is real.
Cope dedicates this speech to Shadi Rapitso, a young e.tv journalist who was killed by a stalker in 2009 simply because she was not in love with him. The stalker held her hostage before fatally stabbing her with a knife. Shadi never applied for a restraining order against him since he had not been violent.
This Bill will now allow victims of harassment to obtain a protection order irrespective of whether the stalker is violent or not. It is a pity, though, that we cannot prevent stalking but can only criminalise it. Would the world not have been a better place if men simply understood when women were not romantically interested in them, or vice versa? Even better, would the world not have been a safer place for our children if they were not harassed by paedophiles?
We also have to acknowledge that in one cultural community certain behaviour might be seen as normal whereas in another cultural community the very same behaviour might be seen as harassment. I know that at times mothers encourage their daughters not to be rude to men who show an interest in them. The daughter, on the other hand, might feel that this interested "partner" is harassing her.
Another example would be when a men chooses a woman whom he thinks should be his wife. If this woman does not agree with his proposal, the man may try against this woman's will to convince her otherwise. This scenario might be considered the norm in some rural areas as opposed to urban areas.
In urban areas, for example, different types of harassment also occur. A woman may continuously call a man she is interested in even though the man may have informed her that he is not interested in her. This scenario could be considered the norm because men are mostly seen as willing participants.
Once this Bill has been passed by this House, the responsibility now lies with us to teach South Africans in all the different cultural, urban and rural communities that there is a fine line between harassment and a choice regarding whom we associate with. The protection of women and children in South Africa must always remain a priority for all of us. Cope supports this Bill.