Government has called for written submissions from the public to comment on the Protection from Harassment Bill.  The purpose of the Protection from Harassment Bill is to:

• Afford all persons in South Africa the rights to equality, privacy, dignity, to freedom and security of the person which includes the right to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources and the rights of children to have their best interests considered to be of paramount importance
• Afford victims of harassing behaviour an effective remedy against such behaviour through providing for the issuing of protection orders against harassment
• Introduce measures which seek to enable to relevant organs of state to give full effect to the provisions of the Act

Download the Protection from Harassment Bill

So what are some of the issues that Shukimisa wants to see addressed?

The Bill is silent on information and communications technologies (ICTs) , except to acknowledge that electronic means can be used to harass someone. As Sally-Jean Shackleton, representing Women’sNet says,” The new Bill enables us to introduce aspects or cyber stalking, and also allows us additional means to trace perpetrators.”  Furthermore, she indicates that:

• ICTs offer an additional tool in the arsenal of stalkers and abusive men
• ICTs can also be a tool for preventing and addressing violence,  tracing perpetrators and  enabling more platforms for seeking help

So, we need to:

• Ensure existing laws and policies respond to new forms of violence, using ICTs
• Ensure that new policies integrate ICTs as a means for addressing violence as well as preventing violence
• That they empower the police and complainants to trace their abuser using ICTs, and that there is improved evidence gathering in cases
• That civil society organisations use ICTs in prevention and offering new platforms for seeking help
• We need to balance these measures with our right to freedom of expression and the right to access information as well as media freedoms

Sarah Haken from the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre notes that cyber-harassment is a different means of harassment and as such victims also need to be protected.

“Children are especially vulnerable within this technological age thus is  important that comprehensive protection measures are put in place as a child’s beat interests are of paramount importance,” she says.

She adds that other jurisdictions have specifically defined cyber-harassment which is instructive.

If South Africa legislates for this there is more clarity and guidance available to the police when dealing with a cyber-harassment crime, she says.

Another provision that needs to be addressed is the  issue of jurisdiction of a cyber-crime

This issue is demonstrated by this story, which was published in the Sowetan recently. Essentially, the story covers the fact that a web site is being used by users to destroy the reputation of other young people. It should be noted that while the forums seem to be targeted especially at South African youths, the web address does not follow the SA naming system like co.za or org.za. Instead, it seems to be hosted outside the country.

Another issue to consider is whose responsibility is it to remove detrimental information that has been made available once a protection order has been issued?

So what can you do?

1. Send a letter of support

If you represent an NGO which deals with the issue of abuse, including domestic violence and child protection, you can support the submissions by the Shukumisa partners by sending us a letter of support.

The letter can be general, simply stating that you support the submissions by some of the Shukumisa partners:

• Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre
• Women’sNet
• Women’s Legal Centre
• Triangle

Your letter should also give some detail on your organisation’s aims and objectives.

2. Tell your story/leave a comment

If you are an ordinary citizen, tell us your story by leaving a comment at the end of this post. Tell us whether you have been harassed, how you were harassed, how the law dealt with the issue ( if it reached that stage )and if it didn’t tell us why you did not report it. You can also tell us of some aspects of the law which you would like to see changed to better protect you from harassment.

3. Blog about it

As a blogger, you probably already deal with “trolls.” But what about serious stalkers? Do you feel that you are adequately protected from harasment by other online users?

It may also be that you’re like Laura over at Harassedmom, who has already interacted with the law with regard to the issuing of protection orders and you were not impressed. Tell your story on your blog. Start a discussion on the various aspects of your experience. Mention that the Bill is coming up from review, and your friends and acquaintances and readers have a chance to get their voices heard by sending their stories to us. Stories can be sent to sarah.haken@gmail.com. If you blog about the issue, please send your link to damariasenne@gmail.com, so we can join your conversation too.