Ramaphosa said there had been “notable progress” on a number of aspects of the plan:
• We are on track to achieve our target of establishing 11 more sexual offences courts by the end of the current financial year.
• A new Sexual Offences Court has been opened in Sibasa in Limpopo and eleven regional courts across all provinces have been identified for upgrade.
• To protect the rights and dignity of child survivors and mentally disabled survivors, CCTV systems have been upgraded at 38 regional courts.
• Two weeks ago Ramaphosa opened the High Court in Mpumalanga and he was pleased to see that the court has the appropriate facilities to protect the rights and dignity of child survivors and mentally disabled survivors. “Such facilities allow testimony to be given without having to face assailants in an open courtroom,” he said.
• The state is in the process of establishing three new Thuthuleza Care Centres centres in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Provinces are identifying underutilised buildings that can be refurbished and used as shelters.
• Clearing case backlogs is a priority. The National Prosecuting Authority is implementing a 100-day rapid results approach to speed up case turnaround times. Courts with significant backlogs in the North West, Eastern Cape and Limpopo had been identified for roll-out.
• National and provincial 24-hour call centres to deal with complaints against police officials, prosecutors and magistrates on gender-based violence and femicide cases are now up and functioning.
• The stats is working to reduce the GBV case backlogs at forensic laboratories and are developing a tracking mechanism that will be rolled out in January 2020.
• The SAPS has allocated 312 new recruits currently undergoing basic training to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units.
• To date, 7 000 rape evidence collection kits have been distributed to police stations across the country.
• A project to reopen unresolved murder and sexual offences cases (so-called cold cases) will soon be operational. It has already begun in the Eastern Cape.
• Government employees who work with children and mentally disabled persons are being vetted against the National Register of Sex Offenders. To date, 1222 officials have been vetted, including prosecutors and members of the police service.
• Legislative reform is under way to tighten conditions around bail and sentencing for perpetrators of gender-based violence, as well as provisions that extend the protection afforded to women and children.
• We are rolling out an education, awareness and prevention campaign on various media platforms. This includes providing information on how to access the Thuthuzela Care Centres and the gender-based violence command centre.