South Africa: Continuous High Rates Of Violence Against Women
Women in South Africa continue to experience extremely high rates of violence. South African society is a country in crisis, with regard to the levels of violence against women.
The alarming statistics on femicide, rape and domestic violence demonstrate these unprecedented levels.
“The Violence Against Women In South Africa, A country in Crisis report” released last week by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Oxfam South Africa found that 40% to 50% of men disclosed of having perpetrated physical partner violence, one in five women older than 18 has experienced physical violence and three women die at the hands of their intimate partner every day.
Alcohol taxation as part of the solution
According to ChildSafe South Africa, alcohol is closely related to violent crimes in the South African context. In their research, they found that about 70% of perpetrators assaulting intimate partners or spouses were alcohol intoxicated.
Scientific evidence shows that reducing the availability and affordability of alcohol is associated with lower levels of violence.
Increasing the price of an ounce of alcohol by 1% would reduce the probability of intimate partner violence against women by 5.3%. Greater efforts need to be made to reduce alcohol consumption in South Africa, especially among men, if the country is to succeed in ending violence against women.
