Govt Obliged to Better Address South Africa's Domestic Violence

According to UN News, South Africa's failure to address domestic violence is a violation of women's rights, independent UN experts said in a report, citing low levels of prosecution and conviction as factors. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) visited the country in September 2019 to conduct a confidential inquiry into allegations raised by civil society organizations.

Available evidence indicated that the scale of domestic violence, including femicide, is alarmingly high, members said. The Committee noted the absence of State-run shelters for women and their children, adding South Africa "cannot absolve itself from its obligation to ensure protection and assistance to victims of domestic violence by delegating the provision of such services to NGO-run shelters without adequately funding them."

The report includes 34 recommendations for action. They include effective law enforcement, policies ensuring adequate access to justice, protection and victim support services, and measures dismantling patriarchal attitudes and discriminatory stereotypes that legitimize domestic violence.