Every six hours a woman is killed by her intimate partner, a national study of female homicide in SA has concluded. The country’s rate of femicide is one of the highest globally when compared with other countries where data is readily available.
Very recently and to great concern, Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela stated: “We have to discourage men from perpetrating this horrendous crime – and those who ignore the advice and warnings must be dealt with decisively by our courts!”
And in the same breath, he continued to encourage women and children to be educated on how to avoid being raped by men: “We need to go out there and educate women and children on how to avoid being a victim of rape and sexual assault.”
In his bold statement, he didn’t elaborate on the measures women and children should take to avoid sex offenders.
What Mawela fails to realise is that this is victim-blaming – a belief that has created a barrier between victims feeling bold enough to report incidents and involves the victim blaming herself for the actions of the perpetrators. It is also common to focus on the woman or girl who was out with “the wrong people”.
The prevalence of victim-blaming prevents us from tackling the issue of gender-based violence (GBV) in society. It allows those who are not affected by violence to pretend that they do not notice it.
Global statistics show approximately 70% of sexual offences and assaults are carried out by persons known to the victims – family members, acquaintances and partners. These individuals often live in the same area or neighbourhood, and could be easily identified. Only 19% of these offences are carried out by strangers.
The reports of murder, kidnapping and mutilation reveal a disturbing portrait of our country. Most alarming, our women are routinely assaulted without consequences.
In the five years between 2015 and 2020, a total of 13,815 women over the age of 18 years were murdered, according to the South African Police Service. That’s an average of 2,763 murders a year, or about seven women a day.
Two years ago, Luyanda Botha brutally murdered Uyinene Mrwetyana. Her killing in August 2019, sparked large protests over the high levels of violence against women in the country. Most femicides are premeditated.
GBV activists across South Africa have thrown up their hands in pure frustration at what they see as “entrenched dysfunction” and lack of focus, especially when South Africa has some of the most progressive legislation and policies on GBV, child protection and children’s rights.
How many more stories about women brutally murdered in SA? How many more women, always weary, always watching, wondering if they are next! When will this end? How many families are waiting for justice, how many rape victims are suffering because of the DNA backlog, denying them justice, obstructing the investigation.
To what end? How many more women must die before the GBV pandemic is taken as seriously as Covid-19 with a nationwide lockdown. Violence against women isn’t cultural, it’s criminal!
What we require is a multi-sectoral commitment for action from all sectors to address the scourge of killings in SA. This call-for-action combines various social, economic, and public health factors. It can help protect the most vulnerable members of our society, whose lives and cries have been ignored for far too long.
To begin to shape and shift consciousness about violence on a large scale, we believe it is necessary to work with men and change the narrative.
Through the I am a MAN campaign, TEARS Foundation is reaching out to men, inviting them to consider their behaviour and empowering them with the knowledge to stand with women and children against GBV.
As part of the campaign, men are encouraged to take a pledge online to acknowledge that there is no small act of GBV, to speak up against gender-based violence and sexism, and to lead in the fight against this scourge.
• Glennie is founder and director of non-profit organisation TEARS Foundation
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