SJD1501
Assignment 5
Semester 2 2025
Due 20 October 2025
, SJD1501
Assignment 5
Semester 2 2025
Due 20 October 2025
Social Dimensions of Justice
QUESTION 1:
How can bail provisions be improved to better protect society from GBV?
Idea 1: Mandatory protection orders before bail in GBV cases
Motivation: Even where bail is granted, an automatic protection order creates a legal
barrier preventing the accused from contacting or approaching the victim. This
mechanism immediately lowers the risk of intimidation, harassment, or renewed
violence, providing crucial preventative protection.
Idea 2: Reverse onus of proof in serious GBV cases
Motivation: ReQuestion uiring the accused to demonstrate why bail should be granted
recalibrates the balance between liberty and safety. This approach prioritises the
victim’s protection in high-risk cases, recognising the recurring nature of GBV and the
disproportionate harm faced by victims.
Idea 3: Victim’s safety and input as compulsory factors in bail decisions
Motivation: Victims live with the direct impact of an accused’s release. By mandating
courts to consider their risks, fears, and vulnerability to intimidation, judicial
determinations move beyond abstract legal arguments to incorporate the lived
conseQuestion uences of bail.
Idea 4: Restrict police or prosecutor-granted bail in GBV cases
Motivation: Limiting bail decisions to judicial officers ensures that GBV matters undergo
Assignment 5
Semester 2 2025
Due 20 October 2025
, SJD1501
Assignment 5
Semester 2 2025
Due 20 October 2025
Social Dimensions of Justice
QUESTION 1:
How can bail provisions be improved to better protect society from GBV?
Idea 1: Mandatory protection orders before bail in GBV cases
Motivation: Even where bail is granted, an automatic protection order creates a legal
barrier preventing the accused from contacting or approaching the victim. This
mechanism immediately lowers the risk of intimidation, harassment, or renewed
violence, providing crucial preventative protection.
Idea 2: Reverse onus of proof in serious GBV cases
Motivation: ReQuestion uiring the accused to demonstrate why bail should be granted
recalibrates the balance between liberty and safety. This approach prioritises the
victim’s protection in high-risk cases, recognising the recurring nature of GBV and the
disproportionate harm faced by victims.
Idea 3: Victim’s safety and input as compulsory factors in bail decisions
Motivation: Victims live with the direct impact of an accused’s release. By mandating
courts to consider their risks, fears, and vulnerability to intimidation, judicial
determinations move beyond abstract legal arguments to incorporate the lived
conseQuestion uences of bail.
Idea 4: Restrict police or prosecutor-granted bail in GBV cases
Motivation: Limiting bail decisions to judicial officers ensures that GBV matters undergo
