Pretoria: As the country commemorates 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, Legal Aid South Africa has reiterated its commitment to protect and defend the rights of these vulnerable groups.

The organisation seen over 45 000 women and children receive legal assistance in the 2014/15 financial year. A total of 26 740 women, mostly in legal issues affecting their civil and human rights, have been assisted.

Of these, the Western Cape and Northern Cape recorded the highest number of 5 332 matters, followed by Free State and North West with 4 727, Gauteng with 4 714, KwaZulu-Natal with 4 497, Eastern Cape 4 311, Limpopo and Mpumalanga with 3 159.

The organisation also assisted children in 16 483 matters. 11 651 were children in conflict with the law and 4 831 matters were regarding assistance to children in civil matters.

Legal Aid SA Senior Litigator Lilla Crouse said that as a custodian of the constitutional rights of vulnerable groups, it was important for Legal Aid to guarantee that it provides justice to women and children by ensuring more than just representation in the court system.

“It means creating awareness and understanding of the rights afforded by the Constitution, promoting the rule of law and ensuring that services are available to provide advice and representation when needed.”

Through Legal Aid SA’s monitoring and tracking system, the organisation was able to monitor children awaiting trial in custody to ensure that their matters were prioritised.

This is done through dedicated children’s units in some of its justice centres.

These units focus exclusively on providing representation to children in both criminal and civil matters.

“Based in these units are specialist child legal practitioners who have had advanced training and research background in child law. In very complex matters, our senior litigators provide support and advice to practitioners that need it,” said Crouse.

A call centre – Legal Aid Advice Line 0800 110 110 – was established in 2010 and has been instrumental in handling matters affecting women and children.

These include but are not limited to assistance with protection order applications in domestic violence matters, maintenance, divorce access and contact, property matters as well as deceased estate matters.

“Supporting the rights of women and children through processes outside of the court is critical,” said Crouse.

The organisation also continuously forges strategic partnerships to strengthen the legal mechanisms needed to protect the rights of women and children.

SOURCE: SOUTH AFRICAN OFFICAL NEWS