ArticlesMediaGender-based Violence, Gun ViolenceEven 'Legal' Guns Need to Be ScrutinisedLast week Solomon Mhlongo was sentenced to an effective 23 years in prison for the murder of his common-law wife Elizabeth and five-year old daughter Tlaleng. Two years earlier he emptied a magazine of bullets into Elizabeth and Tlaleng, stopped to reload and then continued firing until the gun jammed. Elizabeth was left sprawled at the side of the bed,… Read More CSVRJune 4, 2000
ArticlesMediaGender-based ViolenceThe 'Law is an Ass,' Judge WillisThe opinions Judge Willis expressed in the case of Beverly Whitehead versus Woolworths have earned him column inches of notoriety. But his judicial musings on the proper place and nature of women are not new; indications of his conservativism were already apparent from S versus Bennett, a 1999 judgement relating to domestic violence. The matter involved an appeal against the… Read More CSVRMay 7, 2000
ArticlesMediaPolicingHeavy Hand of the LawSince the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) started operating three years ago in April 1997 over 2100 people have died as a result of police action or in police custody. Despite the high number of these deaths however there appears to be little concern about them from either the public or police management. This lack of concern appears to reflect a… Read More CSVRApril 14, 2000
ArticlesMediaGender-based ViolenceLaw Needs to Be More than SymbolicA draft bill that will allow any survivor of a reported rape to apply to have the rape suspect(s) tested for HIV/Aids is under discussion. Not only might this enable women to obtain some peace of mind about their attackers' HIV status, but it should also assist them to make important choices around the use of anti-retroviral drugs, and safer… Read More CSVRApril 9, 2000
ArticlesMediaGender-based ViolenceThe Economics of Domestic ViolenceSouth Africa does not yet understand much about the relationship between poverty and crime. About the closest we ever come is the 'poverty-and-violence-causes-crime' thesis. However, this explanation not only libels the poor and unemployed generally, it is also inadequate. Single mothers and their children, along with elderly women and men, are among the poorest groups in the country. But when… Read More CSVRMarch 12, 2000
ArticlesMediaGender-based ViolenceThere's a Sting in This Evolutionary TaleRecent news reports have highlighted research around rape by sociobiologists Randy Thornhill and Craig Palmer. Their claim about the cause of rape is controversial indeed. Essentially, they state that rape is a behaviour evolved by unsuccessful men to gain sexual access to desirable mates. In other words, unattractive losers who can't find a girl-friend or wife rape women to make… Read More CSVRFebruary 13, 2000
