GBV ‘is about power, far from over’

The case of a Pretoria police officer arrested over the alleged murder of her husband wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last of such cases, experts have warned.

Sergeant arrested for husband’s murder

This after a 44-year-old sergeant from Akasia, north of Pretoria, was arrested after the murder of her 40-year-old husband.

“It is alleged that there was a commotion between the police officer and her husband after midnight on Sunday, when the husband took the officer’s service firearm from her handbag and pointed it at her,” said Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesperson Phaladi Shuping.

“The firearm was discharged four times during the scuffle, hitting the husband,” he said.

Belief that only gender is under attack

Criminologist Prof Jaco Barkhuizen said the problem with gender-based violence (GBV) was that people assume it was only one gender under attack.

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“GBV is gender-neutral, it’s about power and control,” he said.

“The fact that it’s a police officer who allegedly killed her intimate partner should also worry citizens.

“This shows that police are under extreme pressure to do their jobs,” Barkhuizen said.

‘Shocking’ incident

Another criminologist, Dr Witness Maluleke, described the incident as shocking.

“Unfortunately, service firearms are often used as a defence mechanism to solve domestic arguments and conflicts,” he said.

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