Lisa Vetten

Mortality of Women From Intimate Partner Violence in South Africa: A National Epidemiological Study

The purpose of this article is to describe mortality of women from intimate partner violence (IPV) in South Africa using a retrospective national study in a proportionate random sample of 25 mortuaries. Homicides identified from mortuary, autopsy, and police records. There were 3,797 female homicides, of which 50.3% were from IPV. The mortality rate from IPV was 8.8 per 100,000 women. Mortality from IPV were elevated among those 14 to 44 years and women of color. Blunt force injuries were more common, while strangulation or asphyxiation were less common. The national IPV mortality rate was more than twice that found in the United States. The study highlights the value of collecting reliable data across the globe to develop interventions for advocacy of which gender equity is critical.

Intimate femicide-suicide in South Africa: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE To examine the incidence and patterns of intimate femicide-suicide in South Africa and to describe the factors associated with an increase in the risk of suicide after intimate femicide (i.e. the killing of an intimate female partner). METHODS A cross-sectional retrospective national mortuary-based study was conducted at a proportionate random sample of 25 legal laboratories to identify all homicides committed in 1999 of women aged over 13 years. Data were collected from the mortuary file, autopsy report and a police interview. FINDINGS Among 1349 perpetrators of intimate femicide,19.4% committed suicide within a week of the murder. Suicide after intimate femicide was more likely if the perpetrator was from a white rather than an African racial background (odds ratio, OR: 5.8; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.21-27.84); was employed as a professional or white-collar worker rather than a blue-collar worker (OR: 37.28; 95% CI: 5.82-238.93); and owned a legal gun rather than not owning a legal gun (OR: 45.26; 95% CI: 8.33-245.8). The attributable fraction shows that 91.5% of the deaths of legal gun-owning perpetrators and their victims may have been averted if this group of perpetrators did not own a legal gun. CONCLUSION South Africa has a rate of intimate femicide-suicide that exceeds reported rates for other countries. This study highlights the public health impact of legal gun ownership in cases of intimate femicide-suicide.

Medico-legal findings, legal case progression, and outcomes in South African rape cases: retrospective review.

Rachel Jewkes and colleagues examine the processing of rape cases by South African police and courts and show an association between documentation of ano-genital injuries, trials commencing, and convictions in rape cases.

Injury patterns of female homicide victims in South Africa.

BACKGROUND Injury patterns and interpretation of injuries in homicidal deaths are important components of medicolegal autopsies. The objective of this article is to describe the incidence of female homicides and their related injury patterns with reference to autopsy practices in South Africa. METHODS A national retrospective mortuary-based study of homicides in women of 14 years and older in 1999 was conducted. Data were gathered from medical legal laboratory records, autopsy reports, and police interviews from a stratified multistage sample of 25 mortuaries. RESULTS The most common cause of homicide was a gunshot wound injury, with a firearm mortality rate of 7.5/100,000 women, 14 years and older, in 1999, followed by sharp force injury (6.8/100,000) and blunt force injury (6.1/100,000). Gunshot victims were more likely to be African, and those killed by sharp force injury were more likely colored. Significantly, blunt force injury deaths occurred predominantly in intimate partner homicides. A full autopsy was performed only in 70% of cases. An assessment of postmortem reports revealed poor descriptions of the anatomic location of injuries and the specifications of wound dimensions. CONCLUSIONS South Africa has a high female homicide rate that exceeds reported rates with the cause of homicide varying by social group. Assessment of injury description suggests weaknesses in the documentation of injuries at autopsy. This weakens the forensic investigation and undermines the strength of evidence presented in court. Further measures are needed to strengthen forensic pathology services in South Africa.

Policing rape in South Africa

abstract It is well-established that the progress of any reported case through the criminal justice system reflects a highly selective process of elimination, often referred to as ‘attrition’. The fate of any reported rape complaint is subject to the polices significant discretionary power in the processing of complaints. This Article based on research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the Medical Research Council, and Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, examines the police investigation of rape in the Gauteng Province. It examines how the SAPS fare in the investigation and processing of rape cases in terms of factors identified by international research as crucial for the successful prosecution of rape. These include: the collection of physical evidence; injuries, victim resistance and the use of force or weapons; witness statements; the victims willingness and ability to assist with the case; the relationship between the victim and perpetrator; and the suspects prior convictions. The Article ends with concrete recommendations around the police investigation of rape cases, in terms of both their technical management of the process and their sensitive handling of the victims of sexual offences.

The ghost of families past: Domestic violence legislation and policy in post-apartheid South Africa

abstract High levels of domestic violence are a prominent feature of post-apartheid South Africa and stand in stark contrast to the countrys prominent image as being committed to gender equality. Both the State and womens organisations have mobilised around the issue, drafting law and policy responsive to the problem as well as initiating a host of campaigns and other interventions intended to combat it. Yet these have been to limited effect, and domestic violence persists. To explore this conundrum, this article briefly reviews the plethora of State documents issued in relation to domestic violence over the last 20 years, showing how high-level policy commitments have been leached of their transformatory content over time, through changing notions of gender equality and discursive shifts emphasising womens vulnerability. The increasing articulation of domestic violence with familialism, moralism and traditionalism is also highlighted. This discursive milieu is then located within the workings of the Department of Social Development in particular, showing how women have once again been made derivative of the family.