Gender Justice | The Baloyi Case

Baloyi Case: Constitutional Court Press Summary

Baloyi Case: Constitutional Court Full Judgment

Baloyi Case: Video Transcript

Video Chapters

-	The presumption of innocence in prosecutions for violating a domestic violence protection order
-	Using her rights under the domestic violence act
-	Not guilty unless proved beyond reasonable doubt
-	A profound constitutional question
-	International obligations
-	Intimate violence as more than a criminal act
-	Feminising the perspective
-	Reasonable limitation of the right to silence
-	Balancing the probabilities
-	A profound backlash and secondary victimisation
-	It’s never, never, never over

The Baloyi Case

1999

Louisah Basani Baloyi v Public Protector and Others

Presumption of innocence and the right to silence in domestic abuse cases

A new law designed to empower women in dealing with domestic violence enabled domestic partners to make a report to a magistrate who could then issue a restraining order against their abusive partner. The law went on to provide that if she went back to the magistrate to complain that her partner was violating the order, the magistrate could have him summarily brought to court and required on pain of imprisonment

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