The violence faced by partners
JOBURG – The national reported sexual offence statistics between July and September 2020 were released by the South African Police Service.
The national reported sexual offence statistics between July and September 2020 were released by the South African Police Service.
During this time, 11 423 sexual offence cases were reported to the police with many of them being related to domestic and gender-based violence. Of this a mind-blowing 93.5 per cent of these were rape and sexual assault, however, down by 2 307 cases from the same period last year. The police define sexual offences as ‘sexual activities that a person has not consented to’ and refer to a broad range of sexual behaviours that make a victim feel uncomfortable, frightened or threatened. These include rape, sexual assault, attempted sexual offence and contact sexual offence.
Crime statistics for the period between April and June 2020 once again highlighted the links between several crimes and domestic violence. According to the stats, domestic violence was the underlying factor in 112 murders, 322 rapes, 3 364 assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (assault GBH) and 7 518 common assault cases which were reported nationally.
The stats also revealed that under domestic violence, women accounted for 96 per cent of rape victims, 82 per cent of common assault victims and 71 per cent of assault GBH victims.
Romantic partners such as boyfriends, ex-boyfriends and husbands were responsible for 239 rapes and 44 murders during this time and five woman were murdered by their brothers while 11 were raped by them. Sons were responsible for at least two rapes and five murders and fathers were reported as the perpetrators of seven murders and eight rapes.
The United Nations (UN) Women which is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, has stated that women globally face the same issues. According to their Facts and figures: Ending violence against women report, up to 70 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.
The report also stated that men who witnessed their fathers using violence against their mothers, and men who experienced some form of violence at home as children, were significantly more likely to perpetrate intimate partner violence in their adult relationships. The UN Women also has evidence which shows that women who have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence report higher rates of depression, having an abortion and acquiring HIV, compared to women who have not.
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