It’s one thing to feel unsafe in public but its another to fear your partner, the one supposed to be your protector.
Following the release of the Air Force of Zimbabwe Pilot who allegedly murdered his girlfriend, it really has become worrisome that women are being murdered and the killers walking Scot free.
In the same light, South Africa’s Uyinene Mrwetyana’s death which caused shock waves is another femicide case which clearly shows that women are not safe. She was raped and murdered after she had gone to the post office to inquire about a parcel
Femicide has been used to describe killings of women by intimate partners and family members; it has also been used to describe gender-related killings in the community.
Femicide is the most extreme manifestation of violence against women and girls. While it is not a new phenomenon it is one that is drawing attention worldwide due to the alarming increase.
Roughly 66,000 women are violently killed around the world each year, accounting for approximately one fifth of intentional homicides.
Southern Africa is ranked one of the five regions in the world with the highest rates of femicide.
A national study on femicide in South Africa estimated that a woman is killed by her intimate partner every six hours.
The South African female homicide rate is six times higher than the global average. Half of all murdered women are killed by an intimate partner.
A study in Zimbabwe found that of the 42 cases of femicide involving women older than 50, most of the women had been accused of witchcraft by male relatives prior to the killing.
Research is starting to help clarify the factors that increase women’s risk of being killed, especially by intimate partners, and those associated with an increased risk that men will perpetrate femicide.
There is real need to educate the community on gender based violence, awareness-raising and advocacy could encourage cooperation among police, medical staff and other relevant agencies to collect and report on the victim–offender relationship and the motivation for the homicide.
