Read the latest legal news, updates and commentary from the offices of Simon Dippenaar & Associates.
We have covered the COVID-19 pandemic, as it relates to South Africa and the issues that concern South Africans, since the lockdown was first announced on March 27th. We have reported on gender-based violence, the alcohol ban, evictions, and the overall impact on economic prosperity. This report from UNDP on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 […]
This article was written by the executive director of White Ribbon Australia, part of a global social movement working to eliminate gendered violence. Replace “Australia” with “South Africa” and everything he says is equally true of our society. Inequality is so deeply embedded structurally that men and women alike see nothing wrong with mother-in-law jokes […]
Last week we shared some sentiments from Les Da Chef about the causes of gender-based violence in South Africa. While acknowledging the role alcohol plays in domestic abuse, he expressed his view that violence against women in our culture has much deeper roots than alcohol abuse alone, a view we share. But that doesn’t mean […]
‘The level of violence against women is beyond just alcohol consumption,’ says Les Da Chef When lockdown began and the alcohol ban was announced, we expressed reservations. While done with the best of intentions, we were not convinced it would curb the widespread incidence of domestic violence, despite the known links between alcohol and gender-based […]
We’ve written about coercive control previously. If you’re still unsure what behaviours can be classed as coercive control, this article from the UK Guardian tells one woman’s story. Sally Challen was convicted of murdering her abusive husband and sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment in 2011. Last year her conviction was overturned. Her son, David Challen, […]
If the world can unite to beat coronavirus, it should apply the same energy to rooting out abuse Reprinted from the Guardian 2020-05-30. By Graça Machel. Millions of women and children are fighting for survival from abusers in the prisons of their homes. Photograph: Patrick Baz/Abaad/AFP via Getty Images The pandemic is gifting us an […]
We’ve written a lot about the scourge of rape and gender-based violence (GBV) in our country. Sadly, we are seeing an increase in incidents during the national lockdown to combat COVID-19. One security company is fighting GBV. It has put in place a system to help its control centre evaluate the level of risk a […]
Data from the UN population fund, outlining increases in abuse, FGM and child marriage, predicts a grim decade for many women Domestic violence / gender-based violence / violence against women (VAW) – call it what you will. It is a global epidemic arguably worse than COVID-19, because there is no quick fix for it. Self-isolating […]
