2.2. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
2.2.1 International statistic on domestic violence
Compared with the United States (US), South Africa has a higher rate of femicide, which is a 117% rise since 2015 (Al Jazeera, 2018:1). It should be indicated that South African femicide has increased with 7.7% and not 117% (World Bank Group, 2018). The SAPS recorded 124,526 cases of rape in three years from 2014/15 to 2016/17. In 50,988 of these cases, the victim was recorded as aged 18 or younger.
This is 41% of all the rapes recorded in South Africa over the three years (Makou, 2018:1).
A study conducted in Vietnam in by the National Study on Domestic VAW (2010) (in Hanoi, 2012:18) found that 32% of single women have experienced physical abuse in their life, and 6% had experienced physical abuse in the past 12 months, which shows that physical violence starts early in the relationship. This study also found that even though it is difficult for women to talk about sexual violence, 10% of single women reported that they have experienced sexual abuse in their lifetime and 4% in the past 12 months (Heise, Raikes, Watts & Zwi, 1994:1165-1179). Like elsewhere in the world, women who report sexual violence also report physical violence. The IPV occurs in all settings and among all socioeconomic, religious and cultural groups (Hanoi, 2012:18).
This study also confirmed that IPV is widespread in all countries studied (countries such as Bangladesh, Zambia, Tanzania, Serbia Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Thailand and Montenegro). Among women who had ever been in an intimate partnership, about 61% reported ever having experienced physical violence by a partner, 49% reported having experienced severe physical violence by a partner, 59%
reported sexual violence by a partner at some point in their lives; and 75% reported experiencing one emotionally abusive act, or more, from a partner in their lifetime, WHO (2012:1 & 9).
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In addition, a comparative analysis of Demographic and Health Survey [DHS] (2012) (in WHO, 2012:1-9) indicates data from nine countries (I.e. Serbia, Zambia, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa) found that the percentage of ever-partnered women who reported ever experiencing any physical or sexual violence by their current or most recent husband or cohabiting partner ranged from 18% in Cambodia to 48% in Zambia for physical violence, and 4% to 17% for sexual violence. In a 10-country analysis of the DHS data, physical or sexual IPV ever reported by currently married women ranged from 17% in the Dominican Republic to 75% in Bangladesh. Similar ranges have been reported from other multi-country studies (Heise, Raikes, Watts & Zwi, 1994:1165-1179).
In 2002, South Africa ranked as the world’s highest in terms of VAW cases that were reported (Sibanda-Moya, Khonje & Brobbey, 2017:10). It is also reported that the South African’s femicide is higher, when compared to the global one which is 24.7 per 100 000 (Sibanda-Moyo, Khonje & Brobbey, 2017:10). Even though South Africa is ranked as the world’s highest in terms of domestic VAW and children, SAPS Statistics of 2017/2018 have found that Limpopo is ranked at number six with 5,2%, followed by North West 4,6%, Mpumalanga at 3,5% and Northern Cape with 2,5%. Western Cape is regarded as the highest province sitting at 32,6% of domestic VAW and children in South Africa, followed by Gauteng with 22,0%, Free State with 10,4%, Eastern Cape with 9,8% and KwaZulu-Natal with 9,3% (SAPS 2018:38-40).
Moreover, the SAPS (2017/2018) (in Makou, 2018:1) argues that crime committed against women has increased from 173 405 counts in 2016/2017 to 177 620 in 2017/2018, an increase of 4 215 counts (2.4%); and crime committed against children has decreased by 712 counts (1.6%) from 44 252 counts in 2016/2017 to 43 540 in 2017/2018. The 2018/2019 SAPS statistics rate of this crime increased as compared to 2017/2018 (Nicolson & Mafolo, 2019:1). The SAPS (2017/2018) (in Makou, 2018:1) further reveals that women and children experience 67,3% of physical abuse, 19,4%
of emotional, verbal and psychological abuse, 17,0% of damage to property, 12,4% of economic abuse, 8,5% of intimidation, 2,7% of sexual abuse, 1.9% of unauthorised entry into the victim’s residence, 1,1% of stalking, 0,9% of controlling behaviour and 0,4% harassment.
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In South Africa, the rates of IPV are prevalent across population-based studies and rate at between one-in-five and one-in-three women reporting experiences of physical IPV in their lifetime, with 40 to 50% of men disclosing having perpetrated physical partner violence. One in five women have reported experiencing sexual IPV, while 40 to 50% of men have disclosed being perpetrators of physical VAW (Sibanda-Moyo, Khonje & Brobbey, 2017:10).
Hanoi (2012:18) highlights that there is a high level of emotional abuse as 45% of women have experienced emotional abuse in their lifetime, and 25% have reported experiencing emotional abuse, while 9% reported experiencing economical abuse.
Women in Vietnam are reported to have experienced violence by a partner than someone else. A study conducted by WHO (2012) (in McKenney, 2015:1-9) provides that multi-country has found that a growing number of population have measured the prevalence of IPV, most notably the cited study on women’s health and domestic VAW, which collected data on IPV from more than 24 000 women in 10 countries, representing diverse cultural, geographical and urban/ rural settings (Grande, Hickling, Taylor & Woollacott, 2003:543-550).
According to the South African Crime Statistics (2018:5) and Hanoi (2012:19) in 2016/2017, women and children experience 3.6% while men experience 3.9% in general crimes. In other parts of the world, at least one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Hanoi (2012:18) establishes that women aged 15-44 are more at risk of rape and domestic violence than from cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria, and that between ½ and
¼ of all women have been abused by their partners. Moreover, about ½ of homicide murder of women around the globe is caused by their current or former partners; and that 40% - 70% of female murder victims were killed by their partners (WHO, 2012:1- 9).
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