On
Special Assignment this Tuesday (23 November, 2010):
As many as four women are killed a day by their intimate partners.
This is one of the shocking statistics concerning domestic abuse and gender-related violence in South Africa. Yet when a woman strikes back and kills her abusive partner she is often judged more harshly, even in cases of self-defence.
Not only is she a victim of domestic abuse but also the victim of a criminal justice system that doesn’t understand the complexity of battered woman’s syndrome and a society that prefers to avert its eyes from the horrors she has endured. But there are signs of change.
Special Assignment has been mandated by the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to broadcast a two-part documentary on women who kill their abusive partners.
This two-part series is being broadcast during the 16-Days of Activism against Violence Against Women as part of the DCS campaign to raise awareness and lighten the load of these women both during and after their incarceration.
Special Assignment is on SABC3 on Tuesdays at 20h31.