Domestic violence in South Africa

Domestic violence in South Africa has been viewed as a private matter until the last few decades. In the 2012 financial year, just over one-third of the crimes against women that had been reported were prosecuted in court. Legislation has been passed to help improve the quality of life for those being abused and to prevent further abuse. Although the movement against domestic violence is a relatively new movement, it has making great strides in the country since the 1990s.

The South African Domestic Violence Act 1998 defines domestic violence as:

Physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional, verbal and psychological abuse; economic abuse; intimidation; harassment; stalking; damage to property; entry into the complainant's residence without consent, where the parties do not share the same residence; or any other controlling or abusive behavior towards a complainant, where such conduct harms, or may cause imminent harm to, the safety, health or wellbeing of the complainant.

The South African Medical Council released a study in 1998 saying that out of the 1,394 men interviewed, 50% physically abused their female partners at their homes. Considering how recently domestic violence has come to light, it is still considered an early movement. The United Nations found that violence against women was a universal problem. Another study done in 2010 found that a majority of men and over half of women that were surveyed believed that women should obey their husbands. It is not uncommon for the abuse to begin while the girls are still teenagers. It is not uncommon for women to tolerate the abuse they are receiving because it is such a common practice in South Africa.

In a study done by the World Health Organization, it was found that 60,000 women and children are victims of domestic violence in South Africa. It is hard to gather accurate statistical data in South Africa because domestic violence is rarely reported. On average, in a cross-sectional study conducted in 2002, the women who were abused came from a lower secondary education and were unemployed. The same study indicated that 9.5 percent of women reported being abused within the past year (working back from 2002); in some areas of the country it rose to 28.4 percent of women who reported being abused. In 2013, 50 percent of the women surveyed reported that they had suffered emotional and verbal abuse. Of the women who were in violent relationships, 45.9 percent of them reported injury. In the same study it was found that typically the women who do witness and feel the violence come from a rural childhood compared to those raised in an urban area. Although there are many places that do offer help to those suffering from domestic violence, those resources are more available in urban areas. In rural areas it is harder to access proper resources. Nearly half of the female murders that happened in 1999 in South Africa resulted from domestic violence. The percentage of women who reported experiencing domestic violence at least once in their lifetime is as high as 59 percent.

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