The prosecution stage presents some of the same difficulties that survivors reported encountering at other stages: judgmental attitudes by prosecutors; attempts to avoid prosecuting cases by framing gender-based violence as a ‘private matter’ that should be mediated at home; long delays; and inadequate infrastructure.
But new challenges also arise, due to the reduced visibility that survivors have at this stage. Indeed, many survey respondents were never informed of or unsure about the prosecution’s decision on whether to pursue their case. And structural issues impacted the progression and success of gender-based violence cases, from limited resourcing and large workloads among prosecutors to a lack of institutional coordination between police and prosecutors. Lengthy delays, misconduct, and damaging attitudes by actors within the justice system often led to suspects being released on bail, putting survivors’ safety and wellbeing at risk.
34 % of women surveyed were not sure of the outcome of the prosecutor’s decision
37 % were not informed of the outcome of the prosecutors’ decision
I never met the prosecutor that is assigned to my case. She has never made contact with us. We do not know what she looks like. I have never seen her in the past three years. I only heard, but I do not even remember, her surname.
Mother of gender-based violence victim from Mitchell’s Plain
Lorraine Saman from Mitchell’s Plain, who wished to be identified, said that her daughter was killed by her ex-boyfriend while at home with her children in October 2016. Lorraine’s daughter had “reported him to the police but nothing was done about it.” Had the police provided her daughter with the urgent help that she had requested from them, including by a restraining order on her ex-boyfriend, “it could’ve turned out differently,” Lorraine said.
Although, Lorraine said, he was identified by a child who witnessed the murder, and blood was found on his shirt, he was released on bail and at the time of the interview was still free.
“The case was investigated but I never got any development from the prosecutor. Then they said they are going to start a new case.”
In 2023, police arrested the alleged perpetrator due to his failure to attend court. In early 2024, Lorraine appeared in court in the case against her daughter’s ex-boyfriend. This marked eight years since the case was first heard in court. Since then, she has not had any updates from the investigating officer about the case.