You strike a woman, you strike a rock

South Africa has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world. And statistics peg the number at one in five women in the country who will have experienced violence within the year. And these are just the reported cases. 

Why is this so in a country that has one of the most comprehensive constitutions, that entrenched the rights of women and children. According to TV and film actress and vice-chairperson of People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), Rosie Motene, women are too fearful of reporting cases of abuse because they (1) believe they will never be able to leave the situation and (2) the secondary abuse they experience at the hands of the police and justice leaves much to be desired. 

Rosie, a survivor of abuse herself, talks about cases she’s worked on at POWA where the police blamed the women for placing themselves in these situations and went as far as releasing perpetrators without even charging them. She also cites a case where a South African magistrate was caught taking a R3000 bribe to make a case “go away”. 

Take a listen to Rosie Motene’s interview on this scourge. 

Part 1:

Part 2:

How do we change attitudes towards violence against women? Are we doing enough to raise awareness of this problem? 

You can email Terence Pillay at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @terencepillay1 and interact with him there...