GBV: community demands justice for slain women

Angry Reiger Park residents have, following the recent separate brutal killings of two women allegedly by their partner, embarked on a women-led march on December 14 to highlight the problem of gender-based violence in the township.

The group, mostly women clad in black and holding lit candles to signal mourning and solidarity, gathered at the Reiger Park Shopping Centre before marching through the streets of the township, calling for an end to the killings of women.
According to one of the event organisers, Quenatra Gilchrist, the protesters also visited Williams and Clarence September streets, the addresses where the killed women lived. They held a memorial service at the latest victim’s home.

They pointed out that the community will next week march to the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court to call for justice for victims of GBV.
The anti-GBV rallies are spurred by the recent separate killings of  two women in the area.

Police confirmed that a 45-year-old woman was on December 10 allegedly stabbed to death by her 52-year-old husband in their home on Clarence September Street.
Reiger Park SAPS spokesperson Constable Johannes Msimanga said next to the woman’s body, which was found in a pool of blood in the dining room, police found the knife and an egg beater believed to have been used in the killing.

“She suffered stab wounds in the neck and spine. Her body was taken to the Germiston state mortuary.
“The husband was detained after he surrendered himself to the police. He made his court appearance on Monday and the matter was postponed to December 20 for formal bail application,” explained Msimanga.

In the other incident, a 37-year-old woman, Marilyn ‘Becky’ Matthysen (37) was found stabbed to death and lying in a pool of blood in Williams Street, Reiger Park, on December 2.
A knife and broken bottles were found near her body.
It’s suspected that she was killed by her boyfriend. He was reportedly beaten up by members of the community as he was allegedly trying to run away from the scene.

Gilchrist’s husband, Vinny, who works at the Reiger Park Crisis Centre, said the community has seen the reality of GBV.
He said this is a second pandemic perpetuated by several factors, including substance abuse and triggered by psychological factors such as depression caused by poverty among family members.
“It’s important for us as the community to mobilise ourselves and rise against GBV and seek solutions to all the social ills ravaging our community.”

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