Cape Town - Anti-gender-based violence (GBV) activists are up in arms over the alleged increase of litigation abuse cases in rural and urban communities across the province.
Non-government organisation 1000 Women Trust director Tina Thiart said organisations working on the ground and at the forefront of the fight against GBV were outraged at the misuse of court systems by perpetrators to suppress the voices of survivors of abuse, further victimising them.
“Over the past few months there have been many instances of litigation abuse. If you follow the stories of women survivors on social media, you will see all the instances where perpetrators have used the law to abuse women.
“Abusive litigation can come up in several types of cases, including in protection orders, unnecessary lawsuits and family law.”
Thiart said the most recent instance of alleged litigation abuse was the case of a 32-year-old Klawer resident who, despite being raped and assaulted, was arrested by police when her alleged abuser filed a complaint of assault against her while he was in prison.
After the alleged rape in January, the victim reported the incident to the police. However, after doing so, the alleged perpetrator and his friend began harassing and assaulting her, according to Thiart.
“The perpetrator and his friends followed her and her father at least three times and threatened them. On each occasion, the father alerted police, yet they were unable to arrest the assailants. They finally succeeded in arresting the men only a few weeks ago.
“While in prison, the alleged rapist filed a charge of assault against the woman. He claimed he was assaulted when he went to confront the woman and her boyfriend, leading the police to arrest her,” Thiart said.
She said awareness needed to be raised about litigation abuse.
“According to international studies, only 2% of men have been accused wrongfully by women. No woman is prepared to go through the ordeal of reporting for revenge, but men use the legal system to get women to drop a court case or withdraw a report,” Thiart said.
Newly appointed Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said: “As a department, we need to ensure that the police protect our citizens, and if this does not happen, we need to hold the SAPS accountable.
“This we can do with our oversight mandate and through our court watching briefs to track cases of this nature to ensure the SAPS applies the due diligence needed to prosecute perpetrators in this regard.”
He said he would consistently engage with the police on how best his department could assist and collaborate in supporting causes in the fight against GBV, including the involvement of men and the boy child as victims.
“I also commit to meeting and engaging with the various anti-GBV organisations to offer the department’s support,” Allen said.