Chair, Henry Kissinger once declared that the battle of the sexes will never be won as there is far too much fraternising with the enemy. [Laughter.] Okay, I'm sorry; I admit, I did find that funny. But, sadly, what is amusing on the surface has a dark side as large numbers of women in abusive relationships choose, over and over again, not to report their abuser and not to follow through with criminal procedures.
They stay in these abusive relationships for many reasons, including economic dependence, lack of alternative accommodation, fear, pressure from family to make it work and of course love and the hope that the man will change.
Violence against women is a common phenomenon in South Africa and it is on the rise, yet the exact levels are not known, particularly as a result of underreporting.
Although both men and women can be victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, it is primarily perpetrated by men against women. South African research shows the range of abuses women experience to be quite extensive, including physical, sexual, emotional and economic abuse, as well as stalking, forced isolation, intimidation, harassment, damage to property and other controlling behaviours.
A national study of female homicide in South Africa, as we heard earlier, found that a woman is killed by her intimate partner every six hours, making this the highest reported rate of intimate femicide in the world.
According to an SAPS report to the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security in August 2008, a total of 50 497 cases of domestic violence were reported between July and December 2007, but only 23% resulted in criminal cases being opened. Eighteen percent of protection order applicants who participated in an interview reported being threatened with severe injury by their partners if they returned to court to finalise the orders. And 10% indicated that they suffered worse abuse after not proceeding with the court action.
The Domestic Violence Act of 1998 was implemented in 1999, and 10 years on justice in this area still evades us. Lax police and court record-keeping; mismanagement; ignorance of the Act; apathy and resistance to domestic violence as a priority crime; lost documents; lack of photocopiers and malfunctioning equipment continue to cause delays and backlogs.
Of course, the system doesn't always fail women and there are those who have received excellent service from the police. However, expectations placed on our overburdened and underresourced police and clerks of the court by the Act are clearly unattainable in the current circumstances.
Debates like this one today are important in highlighting this devastating reality. However, the ACDP would like to see parliamentary hearings taking place to review laws and other measures introduced to deal with gender- based violence and to assist in their effectiveness and impact on communities. I thank you. [Applause.]