| dc.description.abstract | Domestic violence is a brutal onslaught against constitutional values and the fundamental right to freedom and security of the person. In S v Baloyi (Minister of Justice and Another Intervening) 2000 (2) SA 425 (CC), Sachs J poignantly held at para 11: ‘What distinguishes domestic violence is its hidden, repetitive character and its immeasurable ripple effects on our society and, in particular, on family life. It cuts across class, race, culture and geography, and is all the more pernicious because it is so often concealed and so frequently goes unpunished’.
Accordingly, the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 (the Act) serves important objectives. It must be understood against the backdrop of its social context and legal purpose. In terms of the Act’s preamble, it aims ‘to afford the victims of domestic violence the maximum protection from domestic abuse that the law can provide’. It does so by providing for interim and final protection orders under ss 5 and 6 respectively, and by creating a mechanism in s 8 for their enforcement through arrest. To bolster the efficacy of this protection, s 7(7) prohibits a court from refusing a protection order, or other competent relief, ‘merely on the grounds that other legal remedies are available to the complainant’. | en_US |
