Legal Aid for Victims of Domestic Violence in SA

To our valued donors

Firstly, thank you so much for your continued support for our cause. As you know, Lawyers against Abuse (LvA) is a non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa, which provides urgent legal services to victims and survivors of gender-based violence. The vast majority of our cases to date have involved young women, who have not only experienced some form of abuse, but have been further victimized when they attempted to report this abuse to authorities. Here, we would like to share one of our successes from the past few weeks with you.

This case involves a 12-year-old girl whose teacher threatened her at knifepoint, before kidnapping, drugging and raping her. In February, LvA – along with its partner organisations – acted on her behalf by lodging a complaint of gross misconduct against this teacher with the Gauteng Department of Education.

Though he was initially found not guilty at an internal disciplinary hearing, an appeal against this decision was referred to the MEC in the Department. This time, the appeal was upheld and the teacher was found guilty of all charges against him, which should result in a dismissal from his teaching post.

Please know that this positive outcome would not have been possible without your support. All donations received contribute towards LvA’s role in cases such as these, where we can provide expert legal advice and assistance. LvA is proud to be part of a group of organisations who are working to make a no-tolerance approach to sexual violence in South African schools a reality.

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