Intra-family violence or domestic violence, a domestic relationship or merely a case of sibling rivalry: Where to draw the line?

In a recent judgment by the South African Supreme Court of Appeal, Daffy v. Daffy, (659/2011) [2012] ZASCA 149; [28 September 2012] 4 All SA 607 (SCA); 2013 (1) SACR 42 (SCA) the question of what exactly constitutes a domestic relationship for the purposes of domestic violence came under scrutiny. This article will provide a short overview of the Daffy case and the South African Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998. The bounds and limits of intra-family violence, domestic violence and what constitutes a domestic relationship in terms of South African law will be considered. While this article does not express an opinion on whether this particular case of sibling conflict and alleged violence amounted to domestic violence as set out in the South African Domestic Violence Act, it does question the Supreme Court of Appeal’s constricted interpretation of these concepts and place it within the broader realm of developments on domestic violence and research on family violence. The primary aim of this article is to challenge preconceived and constricted views of what domestic violence entails and who it involves. It will provide the reader with pertinent questions that will, hopefully, instigate further debate about the conceptual structure and scope of domestic violence.