Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister, John Jeffery, and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Sihle Zikalala, officially opened the refurbished Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 19 April, bearing testimony to the fruitful strides that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has made in fulfilment of its commitment to broaden access to justice through infrastructure development in underserved and previously marginalised areas.
The court was refurbished by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as part of its core mandate to build and allocate strategic infrastructure for client departments in order to provide essential services to the public.
The new high-security court complex boasts seven court rooms – three district courts, a family court, a regional court, an equality court and a sexual offences court that is victim-centric.
In his address, Jeffery said: “Today, we can proudly stand here to open this new high-security court complex. The Sexual Offences Court is important. With the unabated increase of sexual violence in the country, the court system has to be responsive and more accessible to survivors of sex crimes so as to increase reporting and the use of the courts, while reducing the withdrawal rate by complainants in these cases.
“For those who may not necessarily be familiar with our Sexual Offences Courts, these are specialised courts that have to meet certain strict requirements in order to be a Sexual Offences Court. It has a number of infrastructural measures and support services that make it easier and less traumatic for victims of sexual offences, such as separate waiting rooms and other measures which mean that the victim will not have to come face-to-face with the perpetrator.”
Jeffery was pleased to note that the number of reported sexual offences in Chatsworth is down by 20%.
Addressing the gathering, ANC MPL, Maggie Govender, said: “This is a major initiative in ensuring that our community is able to access justice and redress. We want to thank the government for this as this will also help ensure that people’s constitutional rights are safeguarded.”
These new facilities ensure better access to justice services for communities, meaning better service delivery and greater assistance to those who need it.
