Women, Violence and Oscar

The incidence of violence against women was kind of knocked off the front page after our Oscar allegedly shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The media has now become focused on covering the story of a man who overcame his disability and became an Olympian, a South African national treasure and hero. A man whose trial will no doubt be one of the most spectacular trials staged here. The scramble by international and local media to report on this story has been massive. Endless columns of text, tv and radio airtime, Twitterings and Facebookings have begun – and only just begun.

He allegedly killed a woman – that is violence against women.

This alleged crime follows on the brutal gang rape and murder of a 17yr old girl in the Western Cape, a young woman gang raped by nine school boys in the Free State; a 98 grandmother raped in the North West, a 100 year old grandmother raped in the Eastern Cape … and this has been going on it seems forever!