Outrage as women continue to meet violent, brutal deaths

Activists demand action and a national strategic plan from the government

POOR conviction rates in cases of intimate partners implicated in femicide has come under the spotlight, as the number of women killed generates countrywide outrage.

Sonke Gender Justice has demanded that the government heed its call for a National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence.

Sonke says South Africa’s femicide rate is five times higher than the global average and a woman is killed every eight hours by her intimate partner while, according to a 2009 Medical Research Council study, less than 38% of intimate partner femicides lead to conviction in less than two years.

The comes after former ANC Youth League official Patrick Wisani was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Nosipho Mandleleni, in Yeoville and as the boyfriend of Karabo Mokoena appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, accused of killing her – besides other deaths.

“We must do more as a society to deal with toxic notions of manhood: the idea that to be a man means to be powerful and dominant, the idea that men have control over women’s bodies. We need to acknowledge that women face danger daily – from strangers, yes, but mostly from within their own homes,” Sonke Gender Justice said.

Sonke’s community education and mobilisation manager, Nonhlanhla Skosana, said: “Men need to stand up and hold each other accountable. We also urgently need to see politicians taking a stand against gender-based violence.”

Lawyers Against Abuse director Lindsay Henson said: “Unfortunately, conviction rates are low. There is a narrative that if you go to the police, nothing will happen. The lack of accountability may even embolden a perpetrator,” she said.

Apart from a lack of capacity by state actors to deal with this, challenges around convictions in assault cases included difficulties in collecting evidence, no witnesses and sometimes the case turning into a he-said-she-said matter, Henson said.

As cases drag on, it can become a financial strain on victims and cause them extreme distress, resulting in their withdrawing the charges.

Ilitha Labantu, which provides emotional support, practical advice and education around the problem of violence against women, said the justice system continued to fail women because often the perpetrators of violence against women were given light sentences, and as a result, these offenders went out in society and repeated the very same offence, in an endless cycle.