South Africa: Confinement Fears More Violence Against Women

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Violence against women is a very worrying phenomenon in South Africa, and with confinement, the risk is that this violence will increase. The government has adopted a series of measures, such as setting up a hotline. But women's rights associations are concerned about the situation in the homes, where many victims are locked up with their torturers.

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With our correspondent in Johannesburg , Claire Bargelès

In the first week of confinement, the authorities received 2,300 complaints of gender-based violence, a figure twice as high as what they have recorded on average per week since the beginning of the year.

Mara Glennie is the founder of the TEARS organization which manages a telephone center for victims of domestic violence. " We are getting calls from all over the country ... Someone, for example, who is going to tell us: I am going through confinement with a new partner, and he is abusive, but I cannot move. Restriction of movement greatly complicates the assistance that can be given to women in these difficult situations. "

However, not all structures have noted a significant increase in the number of calls for help. For Kerryn Rehse of the Mosaic Center for Support to Women Victims of Abuse, it is because many prefer to remain silent.

“ There are women who are locked up at home with their attacker. It is not necessarily easy for them to seek help, by telephone or in person. But these women are also afraid to seek help, because if the police come and do not arrest their attacker, it is very likely that the violence will quickly escalate. So we think we will see an increase in calls for help after containment is completed . "

Feminicides did not stop either: the country was shocked last weekend by the rape and murder of a teenage girl from Soweto who went shopping.

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• South Africa
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