Collective Action Magazine Edition 4. November 2023

MEDIATION IN GBV MATTERS - A CASE STUDY

Employing mediation in GBV cases is a contentious matter which is currently under scrutiny. Collective Action Magazine does not take a position of advocating for mediation in GBV cases but seeks to make the public aware of various views in this regard.

Editor’s Note

NATALIE RUITERS

O

shared my experience as a mediator, mediating domestic violence and harassment cases in the Domestic Violence Court in Wynberg. The project has been in existence since 2015, offering mediation services in court- referred matters. These cases are referred for mediation by the magistrates, where they feel that the relationships can be restored, especially when there are children involved and where big families live together in the same house or subdivided properties, first time offences and neighbours harassing each other.

n 6 May 2023, as founder of La Poppie Mediations, and an accredited mediator, I did a talk on mediation in domestic violence and harassment cases at a workshop

centred around unpacking the Domestic Violence Amendment Act 14 of 2021. This was in the wake of the Domestic Violence Amendment Act that commenced on 14 April 2023.” As an amplifier for the National Strategic Plan on GBVF, I felt it was imperative to have a discussion around mediation in domestic violence and harassment cases and decided that I would share my experience, as my team and I were getting ready to mobilise and launch the 100-Day Challenge at Wynberg Magistrates Court in Cape Town, South Africa.

November 2023 | Collective Action Magazine

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