GBV

A fringe of South African society still believes women should be beaten for ‘burning food’ and ‘refusing sex’ – Image via Adobe Stock

Domestic Violence Bill: SA adds non-binary pronouns to second Act

Parliament has approved amendments to the Domestic Violence Bill that will see the incorporation of pronouns such as “they” and “them”.

GBV

A fringe of South African society still believes women should be beaten for ‘burning food’ and ‘refusing sex’ – Image via Adobe Stock

South African Parliament has revised a second Bill to reflect gender-neutrality, with the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill amended to reflect pronouns such as “they”, “them”, and “their” in place of traditional pronouns such as “he”, “she”, “him” or “her” where appropriate. 

This follows a similar revision to the Cybercrimes Act, and is aimed at promoting better inclusivity for non-binary members of the South African populous. 

Non-binary pronouns included in revised Domestic Violence Bill  

In a statement issued on Wednesday 8 September, Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, John Jeffery, said gender-neutral terms seek to include every person in society, adding that this is particularly important in issues relating to domestic violence. 

“A non-binary [term] is more inclusive because you don’t just have ‘he’ and ‘she’, you also have… intersex people or people who don’t identify as either. In the context of domestic violence, I think gender identity becomes very important,” the Deputy Minister said.

Committee chairperson, Gratitude Magwanishe, said language used in legislation is bound to evolve.

“I generally think that non-binary language is going to become a standard way of drafting [legislation] going forward… to ensure that our legislation is inclusive of everybody. So a lot of investment is needed in ensuring that [Members of Parliament] and officials in departments are trained to write in that way going forward. Society is evolving and our legislation should also evolve,” he said.

Bills sent to National Assembly  

The bill’s gender neutrality amendments were approved during a sitting of Parliament’s Justice and Correctional Services Portfolio Committee on Tuesday.

Additionally, the committee approved an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which now reflects that the identity of an accused person, witness or victim under the age 18, may not be revealed.

The Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill and Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence bills will now go to the National Assembly due to meet on Friday for approval.

If approved, the bills will be sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for assent.