Femicide in South Africa

The contrast is even more astonishing on a per capita basis. In South Africa, the rate of intimate femicide was at 5. 6 per 100,000 in the year 2009, a value which was 29 times greater than Canada’s 2016 rate of about 0. 19 per 100,000. In spite of almost 20 years of administrative legislation and awareness drives to lessen domestic violence, South African women are still more probable to be killed by former or current partners as compared to any other person. South Africa is at a rate of 9. 6 per 100,000 females—an alarming four times greater. Though, the police claim to be unable to quantify the increase in cases of violence against women, it is apparent that the numbers are on the rise (Oliffe et al. One of the primary reasons that contribute to intimate femicide is the hegemonic masculinity which at some point is backed by the available sociocultural factors.

Hegemonic Masculinity Back in the year 1987, Connel Raewyn made up the term hegemonic masculinity in an inspirational text, Gender & Power (Morell, Jewkes & Lindegger, 2012). The custom that men are the head and the respected head of the families, and should therefore not be questioned by their women, is a prime reason as to why there is an increase in femicide cases (Russell & Harmes, 2001). Women no longer have the power and the right to question their men because if they do so, they will face the consequences, which include being reported to the elders, family heads and even community leaders for punishment. Also, women fear reporting their battering men to the law enforcers since customary requires them to solve ‘family matters’ within the family.

And this brings us to another issue referred by many as feminism. Feminism According to the feminist psychology, things are done on a male perspective. Such men are in existence all over the world, and it appears that the majority of them apparently are in South Africa. The several cases of Intimate femicide in South Africa is a proof that most men of today prefer the whores instead of the Madonnas (Kimbell, 2002). Stigma / Fear around staying or leaving and the Culture of Silence The fear of leaving or staying is always brought up in families, most being based on what the society would say regarding the individual, and the repercussions that come with singleness (Peters, Shackelford, Buss, 2002). The society in which we live in today believes in “families staying together even under unsafe circumstances”.

Women therefore, are forced to live in an ‘introvert’ kind of family where the family disagreements are left for them and them alone to deal with and come up with solutions (Boonzanier & de la Rey, 2004). The contrast is even more astonishing on a per capita basis. In South Africa, the rate of intimate femicide was at 5. 6 per 100,000 in the year 2009, a value which was 29 times greater than Canada’s 2016 rate of about 0. 19 per 100,000. In spite of almost 20 years of administrative legislation and awareness drives to lessen domestic violence, South African women are still more probable to be killed by former or current partners as compared to any other person. C. Madonna and Whores: Dichotomy of Women’s Roles as Portrayed in Women’s Magazine Advertisements.