Now that it has been in operation for 20 years, it is necessary to reflect on the impact the South African Domestic Violence Act has had on women's lives. This article analyses this key legislation and the police's duty to ensure its proper implementation. It focuses on the reports of the Independent Complaints Directorate and Civilian Secretariat of Police, the bodies responsible for measuring police compliance with the act. The reports identify serious transgressions, highlighting the police's perception that domestic violence is a private affair with which it should not interfere. This perception plays a particularly subtle and destructive role in legitimizing, supporting and permitting violence against women. In focusing on key court decisions in which the state (police) was held financially accountable for the failure to protect women against violence, the author highlights the importance of challenging the social and legal understanding of women's experiences with violence in promoting a system that takes account of those experiences.

中文翻译：

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警察在协助家庭暴力受害者方面不作为的持续国家责任：对南非家庭暴力立法实施的反思

现在已经运行了20年，有必要反思一下南非家庭暴力法对女性生活的影响。本文分析了这项关键立法和警方确保其正确实施的职责。它侧重于独立投诉局和警察文职秘书处的报告，这两个机构负责衡量警察遵守该法案的情况。报告指出了严重的违法行为，突出了警方的看法，即家庭暴力是不应干涉的私人事务。这种看法在使暴力侵害妇女行为合法化、支持和允许暴力方面发挥着特别微妙和破坏性的作用。