Steps to Obtain a Protection Order in South Africa?

Unfortunately, abuse is a common aspect of South African life and the law does give you the opportunity to protect yourself the way to do it is through a protection order.

What is a Protection Order?

A Protection Order is an order issued by a court ordering a person with whom one has or has had a domestic relationship (the respondent), to stop the abuse.

It’s a legal document that specifies the conditions that an abuser must adhere to, as specified by the courts.

Step 1: Gathering evidence

Make sure that you have all the evidence that you need to prove the abuse. Now what kind of abuse are we talking about? It’s not necessarily only physical abuse, it can be harassment, it can be threats of violence, it can be economic abuse, it can be anything in which you don’t feel safe, mentally, emotionally or physically. It is important to gather the evidence that you need to show the abuse. This evidence can be in the form of WhatsApp, screenshots, emails, videos, photos.

Step 2: Gather information and documentation

The right documentation is called the J88 form, currently, you can get this form online or you can get it at your nearest family court, which is located near you.

A J88 form completed by a doctor. The J88 form has drawings of the human body on it. During your examination, the doctor marks your injuries (bruises, wounds, etc.) on the drawings. This is powerful evidence for the court. You can obtain a J88 form from your nearest police station. If you have an interim protection order, take that along with you. Ask the police if they have any J88 forms. If they do not have any J88 forms, contact the clerk where you got your protection order. Take the J88 form to a doctor at a hospital or to a district surgeon. The doctor will examine your injuries and fill it out for you. A copy of the filled-out J88 form should be sent to the police station for filing. Keep the other copy.

Step 3: Go to the nearest family court

The clerk at the front will be able to assist you with the application for an interim protection order. The magistrate’s court or the High Court is a domestic violence court.

To get an interim protection order, you need to go to the magistrate’s court in the area where you live, where the respondent lives, or where the abuse happened.

Written statements (affidavits) will be required to support your request:

the facts on which the application is based;
the nature of the order; and
the name of the police station where you are likely to report any breach of the order.

An affidavit must state the following if you are represented by another person:

the grounds on which they have a material interest in your wellbeing;
their occupation and the capacity in which they bring the application;
your written consent, except in cases as outlined above.

Step 4: Serving the papers on the respondent

The respondent is the name we use for the person that you are taking the protection order against. You can obtain the police or sheriff to serve the interim protection order. It is important to note that when the police serve the order it is done at no charge, however, when the sheriff serves the order, you will have to pay.

Until the respondent is served, an interim protection order does not have any effect.

Upon granting the interim protection order and serving it to the respondent, you will be able to arrest the respondent for disobeying it.

By violating any of the terms of the order, the respondent may face both a fine and a prison sentence.

In addition to issuing an interim protection order, the court also issues a warrant for arrest of the defendant.

According to the terms of the interim protection order, the warrant of arrest is suspended pending compliance with any conditions, prohibitions or obligations.