Reeva is not alone

03 March 2014 - 02:00 By Graeme Hosken and Aarti J Narsee
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
IN THE DOCK: Oscar Pistorius appears in the Pretoria High Court today on a charge of murder
IN THE DOCK: Oscar Pistorius appears in the Pretoria High Court today on a charge of murder

By the time Oscar Pistorius steps out of the dock in the Pretoria High Court today, at least two women will have been shot and killed in South Africa.

Once his three-week murder trial is over, about 63 mothers, wives, girlfriends, fiancees and daughters will have been shot dead - many of them by their partner.

Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on StValentine's Day last year, making her one of the grim statistics of gun violence against women.

The figures on Gun Free SA's website, presented to parliament last month by the Medical Research Council, paint a depressing picture of the violence women face.

Pistorius is on trial for the murder of Steenkamp.

The state says the murder was premeditated and occurred after an argument, but Pistorius says it was an accident.

Steenkamp's dream was to establish a centre to support abused women.

A report by gender rights organisation Gender Links paints a disturbing picture of violence against women in South Africa.

Researchers criticise the "normalisation" of violence against women.

The Gender Links report, The War@Home, presents the results of research in Limpopo, Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It lists the percentages of women who experience violence at least once in their lifetime:

  • 77% in Limpopo;
  • 51% in Gauteng;
  • 45% in Western Cape; and
  • 36% in KwaZulu-Natal.

The report also looks at emotional, economic, physical and sexual abuse. It shows that the predominant form of gender-based violence experienced by women and perpetrated by men is in intimate partnerships.

Gauteng and Limpopo are the worst offenders, followed by Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Medical Research Council's presentation, based on research into intimate-partner femicide between 1999 and 2009, shows:

  • A rise in intimate-partner femicide compared to homicide committed by women;
  • Intimate femicide is the commonest form of female murder;
  • In 2009, about three women were killed by their partners on average each day. The council believes this is an underestimate because 18% of murderers are not identified; and
  • About half of female murders are perpetrated by the woman's partner.

The research shows that guns are used in 17% of all femicide cases, down from 30% in 1999. About 75% of the guns are legally held.

Lisa Vetten, of Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research, said femicide had become "normalised" and was seldom reported.

"Reeva Steenkamp died in a way many South African women die," Vetten said.

Though domestic violence wa s a serious issue, it was too often regarded as irrelevant , she said .

Gender Links spokesman Katherine Robinson said it was clear that the most prevalent form of violence against women was that committed by an intimate partner.

Gun Free SA said that though men were the main victims of gun violence, "women are the most vulnerable behind closed doors, where guns are used to intimidate, control, hurt and kill intimate partners".

Gun Free SA's Adele Kirsten said research showed that women were extremely vulnerable to being shot and killed in their home by someone they knew.

"It's a global phenomenon we are not immune to.

"Most gun death victims are men. But though women are less likely to be the victim of gun violence, guns play a significant role in violence committed against them."

She said the decrease in the death of women through firearm violence was a result of the Firearms Control Act.

"The problem is that femicide is not only committed with firearms. Other forms of killing have not changed. In some cases, figures are rising. South Africa ranks incredibly high globally when it comes to the murder of women."

Vetten said: "Only with a sensational case like this do people remember domestic violence is a problem."

Vetten said many intimate-partner homicides centred on a woman's sexuality, the desire to control it and suspicion of affairs.

With athletes, other things come into play.

"They live in an unreal world ... They get distorted pictures of themselves and their entitlements," she said.

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now