Cosatu and MPs have welcomed the adoption of gender-based violence bills, saying they will intensify the fight against the killing of women and children.
Cosatu urged Parliament to immediately send the bills to President Cyril Ramaphosa to be signed into law.
The trade union federation also said government must increase the budget of the criminal justice system.
MPs said these were important bills to crack down on GBV in the country.
House chairperson Cedrick Frolick said the bills will be sent to the president for assent.
Parliament passed the Domestic Violence Bill and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Bill.
Chairperson of the justice committee Bulelani Magwanishe said this had been a long road for members of Parliament in crafting the bills.
DA MP Werner Horn said enough has been said about “the scourge of GBV” and it was now time for action.
He said Parliament had worked together in approving these laws.
Zandile Majozi of the IFP said the recent crime statistics paint a grim picture about the sexual offences in the country. She said something must be done to ensure the protection of women and children.
Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks said these bills will empower the state to deal with GBV.
“These three progressive bills (Sexual Offences; Domestic Violence; and Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bills) are part of the package of interventions committed to by the president in 2019. They are a welcome step in the right direction to capacitate the state to tackle the violence affecting women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, in particular sexual offences,” said Parks.
Political Bureau