Gender-based violence: The hidden pandemic in South Africa
#ItsNotOk #AmINext #NotInMyName
This is my last post to conclude my leadership journey through the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
This journey has been lifechanging. It has touched me on a deep and personal level as to who I am, what I want, and what is important in my life. It has given me courage (which I did not have at the start of this journey). It has given me a voice, and most importantly, it has given me a place of belonging and a purpose in this complex and crazy world. To properly reflect on this journey from a personal perspective will end up in an autobiography (which I will leave for another time as my urge for writing has somewhat diminished whilst trying to complete the last milestone of a 15 000 word dissertation).
This blog post will be different from the previous posts, where I reflected on our heroic women voices within their respective African countries. Their fight against climate change, and the struggles and opposition they have been faced with. In this last and final post of the series, I want to do a full circle back to my home country, South Africa, to address the “other pandemic” that the women of this country are dealing with: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Statistics:
- In 2019/20, a total of 2 695 women were murdered in South Africa. This means a woman is murdered every three hours.
- At the start of level 3 lockdown, 21 women and children were murdered in two weeks, leading the president to cite “…two devastating epidemics: Covid-19 and GBV”.
- Femicide is five times higher in South Africa than the global average, with South Africa having the fourth-highest female interpersonal violence death rate out of the 183 countries listed by the WHO in 2016.
- GBV costs South Africa between R28.4-billion and R42.4-billion per year, which amounts to 0.9% to 1.3% of our GDP annually.
The stories: Behind these statistics are women brutally abused and murdered at the hands of their partners:
Nolundi Dondolo (32): A mother of a 9-year-old, murdered by her boyfriend (and father of her child) in cold blood on the 5th of May 2020.
Sibongiseni Nomfazi Gabada (34): Her body was found stuffed in a sports bag outside a shack in Khayelitsha after she had been missing for two week, allegedly murdered by her boyfriend on the 29th of May 2020
Nompumelelo Tshaka (45): Her body was found dumped on an open field in Mthatha by a passerby on the 5th June 2020. Allegedly by her partner
Naledi Phangindawo (25): A mother of three, was found hacked to death in Kwanonqaba, Mossel Bay, allegedly by her partner on the 6th of June 2020.
Nwabisa Mgwandela (31): Killed by three men who assaulted her and left her body hanging in the house. Allegedly murdered by her husband on the 7th of June 2020.
Tshegofatso Pule (28): She was 8 months pregnant, stepped and found hanging from a tree in Durban Deep, Roodepoort on the 8th of June 2020. Murdered by her boyfriend Ntuthuko Ntokozo.
Altecia (27) and Raynecia (7) Kortjie: Altecia and her 7-year-old daughter Raynecia were missing for two days before they were found dead in a house in Belhar, Western Cape on the 12th of June 2020. The 27-year-old mother and daughter were stabbed to death and a 28-year-old male, Ryan Kyle Smith was arrested in connection with the murder and has appeared in court.
Evelyn de Kock (42): Stabbed and killed by her boyfriend on the 14th of June 2020.
Lindelwa Peni (43): The mother of two was reported kidnapped on the 12th of June 2020 and was found dead on the 15th of June 2020. Stabbed to death by her 61-year-old ex-boyfriend.
Amahle Quku (17): Her body was found early on the 21st of June 2020 by residents in Albert Luthuli Street in Browns Farm. Her clothes were ripped off and stones were seen next to her body.
On June 17 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the public on the other pandemic that South Africa face saying, “Their killers thought they could silence them. But we will not forget them and we will speak for them where they cannot. We will speak for Tshegofatso Pule, Naledi Phangindawo, Nompumelelo Tshaka, Nomfazi Gabada, Nwabisa Mgwandela, Altecia Kortjie and Lindelwa Peni, all young women who were killed by men”.
The names above are those murdered within a month during South Africa’s lockdown. They are not the only ones and there are many more.
Movements like #ItsNotOk #AmINext and #NotInMyName have gained significant support but is not enough to stop this devastating violence against women.
We need help and we need voices
ITS TIME TO END THE SILENCE: #EndDomesticSilence
JOKO and POWA formed a powerful partnership with a comprehensive website on Gender-based violence
Sign the pledge on #ItsNotOk: https://itsnotok.africa/
- Gender-Based Violence Command Centre: http://gbv.org.za/
- Sonke Gender Justice: https://genderjustice.org.za/
- Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC): http://www.saartjiebaartmancentre.org.za/
- RADA: https://www.rada.co.za/
- The Frida Hartley Shelter: https://www.fridahartley.org/
- Rape Crisis Centre: https://rapecrisis.org.za/
- Shukumisa: http://shukumisa.org.za/
- ADAPT Agisanang Domestic Abuse Prevention and Training: http://www.adapt.org.za/
- FAMSA (Family And Marriage Society Of SA): Provides counselling, education and training for South Africans who want help with relationship issues. Help communities in focus areas such as violence and trauma, HIV/AIDS, abusive relationships, poverty and relationship breakdown. 011 975 7106/7
- Masimanyane Women’s Rights International: https://www.masimanyane.org.za/
- People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA): https://www.powa.co.za/POWA/
- Tears Foundation: https://www.tears.co.za/
- The Trauma Centre: http://www.trauma.org.za/
- #AmINext: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/aminext-south-african-women-share-gender-violence/
- #NotInMyName: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/not-in-my-name-south-africa-civil-rights/