‘We need to deal with the root causes of GBV’ - Mogoeng Mogoeng
Chief Justice, Mogoeng Mogoeng says South Africa needs a plan to deal with the root causes of gender-based violence (GBV) and that the judiciary, police, and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are currently only addressing the symptoms.
Mogoeng presented his annual report on the judicial functions and court performance for the South African Judiciary in Braamfontein on Thursday.
He says key role players in the justice system have not been working well together particularly on the issue of gender-based violence.
"I believe a lot of good work could have been done had the judiciary at all levels been involved in working on the sexual offences court," he noted.
"It is about the capacity of the police, prosecutors, and the magistrates. Have they been trained? Have they increased the number of prosecutors and the number of magistrates who are going to deal with these cases?" he asked.
He added that magistrates have been imposing harsher sentences on the perpetrators, but that this was not stopping the scourge of gender-based violence in the country.
"I think we need to diagnose the problem correctly so that the medication we dispense for the problem will be effective and help us to reduce the problems significantly," Mogoeng said.