While 115 police officers have been victims of domestic violence, about 191 cops were also perpetrators of gender-based violence.
This was revealed by the Civilian Secretariat for Police which highlighted the need for psychosocial or wellness support for cops.
The Free State led with 51 officers who were victims of domestic violence, followed by the Western Cape with 44 and KwaZulu-Natal with 9 cases.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on police received the presented report on the Domestic Violence Act and Police Station Census between October 2023 and March 2024.
“Across all nine provinces no police station was found to be fully compliant in terms of the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA).
There were 59 cases of non-compliance that were reported, with Free State reporting 23 cases, Western Cape 20 cases, North West 15 cases and Gauteng one case.
“Police officers who do not act on domestic violence as obligated by the act, their lack of action can become a misconduct and can be subjected to disciplinary hearing action. Some of the police officers transgressed more than once with the majority of the cases relating to administration such as forms not filled. There were about nine failures to serve an interdict,” the Secretariat noted.
Committee chairperson Ian Cameron said the fact that 2.68% stations did not have victim-friendly rooms was a concern that required immediate action from the police and sister departments.
Cameron said it was disheartening that in a country that is struggling with alarming levels of gender-based violence and femicide, there remains high levels of non-compliance with provisions of the DVA.
“Among other non-compliance items include failure to adequately complete incidents in the Domestic Violence Register, failure to assist a complainant to open a case, failure to serve a protection order and render a satisfactory service to the victim.
“Employee health and wellness for SAPS members has been also identified as a critical area of oversight for the committee and as such urged the SAPS management to prioritise capacitation of Employee health and wellness initiatives to ensure that all members of SAPS have access to and receive psychosocial support, especially in the context of the suicide rates among SAPS members,” he said.
Police minister Senzo Mchunu appealed for all roleplayers including social development to play their part, stating that there was a need for social workers in all police stations across the country.
“Other departments are not really coming on board. Police officers are not trained in terms of the assistance of victims of rape. Rather they are trained to react to the criminality that would have happened. We need active departments that will show intentions to place social workers in police stations to assist. The advantages of social workers is that they can study the communities and are familiar with family issues. I’m not saying this as an excuse for the non-compliance. I’m just saying if we want to really see a turnaround then we need the whole government to work together. We note the gaps that have been identified and will work on them,” said Mchunu.
Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said the data reflects an urgent need for action to ensure police accountability and victim protection, particularly in provinces such as the Free State and the Western Cape where reports of non-compliance were high.
“Non-compliance with the DVA compromises the safety and well-being of survivors, leaving them vulnerable and without adequate support. It is crucial for SAPS to prioritise both training and accountability measures to ensure that officers are fully equipped to handle domestic violence cases.
“Ilitha Labantu notes the number of police officers as perpetrators of domestic violence raises serious questions about the internal culture within SAPS and calls for rigorous oversight and support structures to prevent such cases. The fact that 101 police members are themselves victims of domestic violence underscores the widespread nature of this issue,” said Monakali.
Cape Times