In a powerful press briefing held on Thursday, April 10, at the Old Fort Constitutional Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, representatives from three Chapter Nine institutions gathered to address the recent Timothy Omotoso judgment and the pressing issue of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide in South Africa.
The briefing was hosted by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission), the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
Amid the discussion, Sihle Sibisi, founder of the Kwanele Foundation (which means "enough" in English), and a GBV advocate and survivor spotlighted the insidious role played by social media in reinforcing the trauma experienced by victims.
"There are victims who come out to say pastor so and so did this to me, but there will be a specific blogger digging into the victim's past and saying 'but she used to be an alleged prostitute or thief', trying to discredit the victim's story," Sibisi said, drawing attention to the pervasive victim-blaming culture that often accompanies these cases.
Sibisi's remarks were grounded in the essential protections enshrined in the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) 4 of 2013, which aims to guard against cyber-bullying, an issue exacerbated in a digital age where anonymity can embolden harmful discourse.
The legislation, alongside the Cyber Crimes Act 19 of 2020, aims to safeguard personal and private information from such violations.
In response to Sibisi's pointed comments, CRL Rights chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating, "We heard you, we've been hearing you for a long time. You do more than most of us."
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva noted the urgent need for social media platforms to implement robust tools to detect and counter cyber-bullying, given the harrowing experiences that many women faced during the Omotoso case.
Nigerian televangelist Omotoso was acquitted on 32 charges of rape, sexual assault, and human trafficking after spending eight years in prison, an outcome that has left many in despair over our justice system.
Emphasising the need for tangible change, Sibisi concluded, "I am praying and hoping that the constitutional bodies keep their promises, and that they'll lead to change because we've been walking this road for years and hearing the same thing. So we're waiting for their final announcement on Tuesday and see the real change."
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