According to Africa Check, a total of 14,333 murders were committed in South Africa between April and December 2016. 1,713 of those murders were women, meaning that a woman was murdered every four hours in South Africa. 57.1% of these women are killed by their partners – boyfriends, fiances, husbands – according to the South African Medical Research Council’s Gender and Health Research Unit. So, one woman is murdered every eight hours by an intimate partner.
Not to be dramatic, but this means that women are an endangered specie in South Africa. South Africa’s femicide rate is five times higher than the global rate, according to stats from the World Health Organization’s Violence and Injury Prevention Programme. The global femicide rate in 2015 was 2.4 per 100,000 women. South Africa’s rate for the same year was 9.6 per 100,000 women, meaning that femicide in South Africa is four times that of the global average.
In South Africa, gender-based violence is an everyday reality, and even when justice is done in courtrooms as in the case of Sandile Mantsoe, women still live in constant fear. Across Africa, and the world, women live in fear. Walking down the road, going to work, at work, at conferences, at restaurants, women are in a constant state of alert because the danger is everywhere – mostly from men.
This is a call for women all over the world to stay woke. The society can do only little or nothing to protect you. It is sad but it is what it is. Once you notice signs of abuse in your partner, run as fast as your legs can carry you (that should be faraway) Do not try to make excuses for an abusive partner. Be street smart too. If you notice someone stalking you, report to the authorities right away.
Reports source: konbini.com
Image credit: face2face Africa
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