What Is Section 7 of the Domestic Violence Act In South Africa?

Section 7 of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 is the provision that tells a magistrate’s court what it may actually order when it grants a final protection order under section 4, and what interim relief it may grant together with an interim protection order under section 5. The powers run wider than most applicants expect: the court may prohibit the respondent from committing any act of domestic violence, prohibit them from enlisting another person to commit such acts, evict them from a shared residence under section 7(1)(c), bar them from the complainant’s place of employment or the school attended by a child of the complainant, suspend any existing contact order over children, order the respondent to pay maintenance, and — under section 7(2) — order that a police official accompany the complainant to collect personal property from the shared home. Section 7 is a substantive remedies section, not a procedural one; it assumes the application has already cleared the section 4 or section 5 gate and sets out what the order can require the respondent to do or not do.

Where Section 7 Sits in the Act’s Structure

The Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 creates a layered set of remedies. Each section of the Act performs a different job:

• Section 3 — sets out who has the right to apply for a protection order;
• Section 4 — authorises the court to issue a protection order after considering the application;
• Section 5 — authorises the court to issue an interim protection order pending the hearing of the final application;
• Section 7 — sets out the powers of the court when granting the order.

Section 7 is the substantive remedies section. It does not by itself authorise the application — that is the work of sections 3 and 4. It tells the court what it can require once the order is granted. Where section 5 grants an urgent interim order, the court draws the substance of that order from section 7.

The Act was materially amended by the Domestic Violence Amendment Act 4 of 2020, which tightened the definition of “domestic violence” by adding “controlling behaviour” to the list of recognised forms of abuse and clarified electronic harassment. Section 7 itself was amended to extend the court’s reach into electronic communications. A related companion remedy is the harassment order under the Protection from Harassment Act 11 of 2011 — the two regimes overlap, and an applicant may sometimes apply under both where the conduct falls outside a domestic relationship.

The Powers of the Court Under Section 7(1)

When granting a protection order, the magistrate’s court may make any or all of the following orders under section 7(1):

1. Prohibit any act of domestic violence (section 7(1)(a)) — the respondent is barred from committing any further act of domestic violence against the complainant.
2. Prohibit enlisting help (section 7(1)(b)) — the respondent may not instruct or encourage another person to commit any such act on their behalf.
3. Eviction from a shared residence (section 7(1)(c)) — the respondent may be prohibited from entering the residence shared with the complainant, in whole or in part, or from entering the complainant’s place of residence at all.
4. Bar from workplace or school (section 7(1)(d)) — the respondent may be prohibited from entering or remaining at the complainant’s place of employment or at any school attended by a child of the complainant.
5. No-contact order (section 7(1)(e)) — the respondent may be prohibited from contacting the complainant in any manner, including by telephone, post, email, or through a third party.
6. Maintenance order (section 7(1)(f)) — the respondent may be ordered to pay maintenance to the complainant or to any child in the complainant’s care, where the respondent is already legally obliged to do so.
7. Rent or mortgage payments (section 7(1)(g)) — the respondent may be ordered to continue paying the rent or mortgage on the shared residence.
8. Suspend contact or family-violence interdict (section 7(1)(h)) — the respondent may be prohibited from interfering with custody of any child the complainant has with the respondent, including an order suspending a contact order or a family-violence interdict already in force against the complainant.

These eight powers are not mutually exclusive — the court grants whichever combination fits the facts of the case. Where the relationship involves minor children, the court will often combine a section 7(1)(c) eviction, a section 7(1)(e) no-contact order, and a section 7(1)(h) suspension of any existing contact order in a single protection order.

Supplementary Powers Under Section 7(2)

Section 7(2) gives the court supplementary powers that are used alongside the section 7(1) remedies, particularly in the immediate aftermath of an eviction or ouster:

• Police accompaniment to collect property. The court may authorise a police official to accompany the complainant to the shared residence so that the complainant can collect personal property safely. This is the “safety officer” mechanism often used where the respondent has been ousted and the complainant needs to retrieve belongings without confrontation.
• Firearm licence revocation and surrender. The court may direct that the respondent’s firearm licence be revoked and that any firearm in the respondent’s possession be surrendered. This is implemented under the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 in conjunction with the protection order, not as a standalone section 7 power.
• Catch-all ancillary order (section 7(3)). The court may make any other order it considers reasonably necessary to protect the complainant from domestic violence. Courts use this residuary power sparingly, and only where the specific subsection powers do not fit the facts.

Interim vs. Final: How Section 7 Operates With Section 5

The interim protection order under section 5 is the urgent remedy that runs alongside section 7. The mechanics work as follows:

• Section 5 authorises the court to issue an interim protection order pending the hearing of the final application. The interim order may include any of the section 7(1) powers, but it is granted on a prima facie basis and is limited in duration.
• Section 4 authorises the court, after the hearing, to issue a final protection order that incorporates the section 7(1) powers on a permanent basis — until the order is set aside or varied.
• Section 5(3) provides that the court must consider whether to issue an interim order with or without notice to the respondent. Ex parte interim orders are available where there is a risk of imminent harm if the respondent is notified.

In practice, an applicant at risk of immediate harm files the application, applies for an interim order on the same day, and (if granted) walks out of court with an order that includes the section 7(1) powers. The final protection order follows weeks later, after the respondent has had an opportunity to oppose.

Proportionality, Constitutional Limits, and KS v AM

The Constitutional Court has emphasised that section 7 must be applied in a manner that balances the complainant’s safety against the respondent’s own constitutional rights — housing, property, and dignity. Section 7’s powers are broad, but they are not unlimited.

KS v AM 2018 (1) SACR 240 (GJ) is the leading South Gauteng High Court decision on the scope of section 7, and on the section 7(1)(c) power to evict a respondent from a shared home in particular. The court held that the section 7 powers are broad but not unlimited, and that the magistrate must weigh the proportionality of the order against the facts of each case. Section 7(1)(c) orders have been constitutionally challenged where the respondent is also the joint owner or lessee of the property; the courts have generally upheld the eviction power but require a proper enquiry into joint ownership or leasehold rights before granting the order.

For an applicant, the practical implication is that the more information placed before the court about the joint ownership or lease position, the more likely it is that a proportionate order will be granted. Skipping that evidence does not stop the eviction — but it does increase the risk of the order being varied or set aside on appeal.

What an Applicant Should Expect in Practice

The magistrate’s court has jurisdiction if the complainant resides, is employed, or carries on business in that district, or if the respondent resides there. Section 6 of the Act sets out the jurisdiction rules in full.

Applications are made on the prescribed form (Form 2) with a supporting affidavit. Urgent after-hours relief is available through the on-duty magistrate at any magistrate’s court on weekends and after 16:30 on weekdays. The clerk of the court is required under section 9 to assist an unrepresented complainant with the application — applicants do not need a lawyer to lodge, but most engage a family-law attorney for the contested hearing, particularly where the section 7(1)(c) eviction power or a section 7(1)(f) maintenance order is in play.

Filing Locally in Gauteng

Section 7 is national in scope — every magistrate’s court in South Africa has the same section 7 powers and the same procedural framework. What differs between provinces and between magisterial districts is the where of filing. In Gauteng, a complainant may bring a protection-order application at any magistrate’s court with jurisdiction because the complainant resides, works, or carries on business in that district, or because the respondent resides there (section 6). Practically, an applicant who lives in Centurion can apply at the Centurion Magistrate’s Court, an applicant in Alberton can apply at the Alberton Magistrate’s Court, an applicant in Roodepoort can apply at the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court, and so on through the firm’s Gauteng branch catchment areas. The Legal Practice Council (lpc.org.za) and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (justice.gov.za) remain the authoritative sources for current forms and filing fees.

Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Family Law Department, headed by Director Anna-Mi Nel, fields domestic-violence and protection-order work across the firm’s Gauteng branches. Where an applicant wants the protection-order hearing prepared and conducted by counsel, the department runs the work through the same trial-preparation process used in other family-law matters — affidavit drafting, instructing counsel where needed, and marshalling supporting evidence.

Section 7 Protection Order vs. Protection from Harassment Act Order

Where the conduct falls outside a domestic relationship, applicants sometimes consider a parallel remedy under the Protection from Harassment Act 11 of 2011. The two regimes differ in scope and effect:

Feature	Domestic Violence Act s. 7 protection order	Protection from Harassment Act 2011 order
Type of harm covered	Domestic relationships (married, cohabiting, family, same-sex partners, children of those relationships)	Any harassment, by any person, regardless of relationship
Interim order available	Yes (section 5)	Yes (section 9)
Eviction of respondent from shared home	Yes (section 7(1)(c))	Generally no — only restraining orders
Maintenance order	Yes (section 7(1)(f))	No
Police-accompaniment power	Yes (section 7(2))	Limited — the court may request police assistance but not the same formal mechanism
Firearm surrender mechanism	Yes, in conjunction with FCA 60 of 2000	No formal mechanism
Forms	Form 2 (application); Form 3 (interim order); Form 4 (final order)	Form 1 (application); Form 5 (order)

How Long a Protection Order Lasts and How It Is Enforced

A final protection order remains in force until it is set aside, varied, or the respondent is no longer a person against whom a protection order may be made — there is no built-in expiry. Variation or setting aside is possible on application by the respondent, but only on good cause shown and after notice to the complainant.

Breaches of a section 7 order are an offence under section 17 of the Act, carrying a fine or up to five years’ imprisonment, or both. The complainant may lay a criminal charge at any police station, and an arrest does not require a warrant if the breach is witnessed by a police official.

Section 7 of the Domestic Violence Act is technical, and the powers it grants are wide. Most applicants benefit from at least one consultation with a family-law attorney before the hearing, even where they lodge the application themselves. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Family Law Department (head: Anna-Mi Nel, Director) handles domestic-violence and protection-order matters across the firm’s Gauteng branches — Linden/Randburg (011 888 0246), Bedfordview (011 201 7190), Sandton (011 253 3080), Centurion (012 644 4990), Pretoria-Menlyn (012 471 5700), Roodepoort (011 668 0030), Alberton (011 439 3990), or Midrand (010 022 4082). The firm is rated 4.8/5 across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and carries multiple family-law awards including Best Family Law Firm 2024 – South Africa (Lawyers Monthly Legal Awards 2024) and Family Law Firm of the Year 2024 – South Africa (MEA Business Awards 2024).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is section 7 of the Domestic Violence Act in South Africa?

Section 7 of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 sets out the powers of the magistrate’s court when granting a final protection order (under section 4) or an interim protection order (under section 5). It tells the court what it may order the respondent to do or not do — from refraining from any act of domestic violence, to eviction from a shared home, to maintenance, to police-accompaniment for property collection.

Can the court evict a respondent from the shared home under section 7?

Yes — section 7(1)(c) authorises the court to prohibit the respondent from entering a residence shared with the complainant, in whole or in part, even where the respondent is the joint owner or lessee. The order must be proportionate and is subject to constitutional scrutiny (see KS v AM 2018 (1) SACR 240 (GJ)), but the power is well-established and used routinely.

Can the court order maintenance as part of a protection order?

Yes — section 7(1)(f) allows the court to order the respondent to pay maintenance to the complainant or any child in the complainant’s care, provided the respondent is already legally obliged to do so. The order is granted alongside the protection order itself and does not require a separate maintenance application.

What is the difference between a section 7 order and an interim protection order?

Section 7 lists the substantive remedies (what the court can order); an interim protection order under section 5 is the procedural mechanism by which those remedies are granted urgently before the final hearing. An interim order is limited in duration and granted on a prima facie basis; a final protection order incorporates the section 7 powers permanently until set aside.

Can the court order the respondent’s firearm to be surrendered?

Indirectly, yes — a section 7 protection order triggers the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 mechanism for revocation of the respondent’s firearm licence and surrender of any firearm. A court does not on its own power under section 7 confiscate a firearm, but a protection order is the gateway to the firearms process.

Does the complainant need a lawyer to apply for a protection order?

No — the Domestic Violence Act expressly requires the clerk of the court to assist an unrepresented complainant with the application (section 9), and a complainant may apply personally. Most complainants, however, engage a family-law attorney for the hearing, particularly where the facts are contested or the section 7(1)(c) eviction power is in play.

What happens if the respondent breaches a section 7 order?

A breach of a protection order is an offence under section 17 of the Act and carries a fine or up to five years’ imprisonment, or both. The complainant may lay a criminal charge at any police station, and an arrest does not require a warrant if the breach is witnessed by a police official.