Reasons Why Women Occur

There are many reasons as to why violence and abuse continue to occur. One reason may be the ineffectiveness of South African legislation to enforce laws and prosecute offenders. The inability to prevent violence against women has been supported by two separate reports, the Human Rights Watch (1997) report and the South African Police (2008) report (Burns, 2012). The latter indicated that there was a total of 52 617 cases of rape reported between April 2006 and March 2007, of which only 7% were successfully prosecuted (Burns, 2012). These figures blatantly indicate that the state has failed to protect women, moreover indicating that the prosecution of offenders has been ineffective. This, in turn, belittles the punishments towards offenders

A fine line exists between neglect and abuse. However, different levels of violence against women and children are identifiable. It is important to categorise the type and other forms of abuse when intervening with abuse victims. This could range from physical, emotional, sexual and even non-contact abuse (Visser and Moleko, 2012). Some theories include that the enforcers themselves suffered abuse as children and therefore don’t necessarily see it as unacceptable behaviour. Others suggest that owing to mental illness, there are blurred lines concerning their intentions to hurt or harm the women or children in their lives. According to a recent study, statistics proved substance abuse by the perpetrator to be a major contributing factor to the prevalence of domestic violence in South Africa. It is important to note that this psychosocial issue suffers from under reporting by the victims owing to feelings of self-blame, embarrassment and fear of not being

Because household violence against women and children is often viewed as a personal and private matter, the first step for intervention would be to create public awareness. When members of the community are made aware of the psychosocial problem that many of their members face, a platform for support and activism is created. Recognising men’s violence against women as a social problem has been paramount for the promotion of women’s rights. Three parties primarily involved in intervention include the police, the healthcare sector and the courts. When using these channels, victims may face secondary victimisation. This called for the victim-centered approach to be implemented in order to protect the rights of the affected persons. Parenting programmes are made available and have shown positive outcomes in the prevention and reduction of child abuse (Cluver et al., 2016). The rise of women’s movements has resulted in the government adjusting various legal policies in order to promote the protection of the rights of women and children. Economic upliftment plays a role in helping black- and underrepresented groups of women by improving their economic condition (employment) and socio-economic status. Media coverage has been a useful tool in contributing towards the women and children’s movement. Marches and