Let's Talk: Women killing their abusive partners in self-defense + how the law has failed them
Good morning/afternoon/evening, you beautiful people!
As we are approaching Christmas and are in the middle of the festive season. I wanted to highlight an important issue that affects so many women, especially during the festive season.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of domestic and intimate partner violence in the world. As a South African woman, knowing this statistic is scary. I have decided to highlight this issue as it is a huge problem in my country but worldwide as well.
I wrote about 16 days activism and what we as citizens can do to help. You can read about it here! There also lies another issue, women killing their abusive partners. The majority of these women end up going to prison and serving lengthy sentences.
I am not justifying murder but in self-defense, I believe that it's just. Living in constant fear is not living. A lot of women actually go to the police and report cases of abuse and violence but they receive no support. They are all alone in abusive situations with law officials disregarding and downplaying the situation.
Many courts argue that the woman could have left and gone to a shelter, which is daunting and not always safe. Secondly, they claim that the woman could have left the relationship instead of it resulting in murder. Many women are dependent on their partner and feel helpless after being subjected to abuse for an endless amount of time. This complicates things as the woman does not feel empowered.
Judges often ignore evidence and blame the woman without looking at the entire picture. Self-defence is seen as defence from a house/ outside invasion not defence from a danger that is within.
The battered woman syndrome is recognized in many countries. The battered woman syndrome refers to the mentality that abused women develop, called learned helplessness. The question is, why does the law not do more to protect these women instead of being in a hurry to throw them behind bars? If their male partners had been the murderer chances are they would have ended up walking free or getting a lighter sentence.
There are more complicated cases such as when the defence is a planned assault. Self-defence in regards to domestic violence is a slippery slope with blurred lines. I sincerely hope that by bringing more attention to this topic more fairness and justification will come as a result.
Question of the week: What legislation and/or governmental support would you like to see implemented in this regard?
I'll go first! In my opinion knowledge is freedom! South Africa as a country has so many incredible laws and systems but the knowledge has not effectively trickled down to those who need it the most! This is what I would love to see change and I would actively love to be a part of this!
All my love❤️
Ruthy
Catch me on my other platforms!
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