Women in South Africa: 'We just want to be safe'
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What recent femicide cases sparked the national outcry in South Africa?
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Tänäänkin Suomessa on tuhansia rahoittamisen arvoisia yrityksiä. Nyt niillä on varaa kasvaa. Me OP-pohjalassa avasimme juuri satojen miljoonien kasvurahoituksen. Lue lisää O.fi kautta kasvurahoitus. Yrityslainen myöntää osuuspankki tai OP-yrityspankki Oji. Kun yrityksesi kasvaa ulos neliöistä, haluatko, että vuokranantajasi on epävarma vai varma? Vuokraat toimitilat varmalta toimitilat.varma.fi The Documentary, home of the best documentaries from the BBC World Service.
Hello, I'm Rob Young. Welcome to the documentary. This time in BBC Conversations, we bring together women in South Africa to share their experiences of tackling violence. In the past three months, the bodies of nine women have been discovered near Johannesburg. Most were young in their twenties or thirties, and almost all had suffered extreme violence before their deaths. The murders have sparked an outcry across the country that more needs to be done to combat violent crime against women, a problem the government itself has described as a national disaster. I should warn you. That later in our conversations two of our guests describe their experiences of domestic abuse. One of the women who was killed in the recent attacks was out jogging when she disappeared.
And the police have issued a public warning for women to be careful when running in the area. My colleague James Reynolds brought together Hanni from the Pirates Running Club in Johannesburg, and Elizabeth, another regular runner in the city.
It's really heartbreaking, you know. These are people, these are people's mothers and sisters and relatives and they had a story and they had a life and that was cut short by the growing rates of the femicide that is going on in our country. And it's very, very sad. And it you kind of sit with it and you think, Okay, literally, am I next? Am I gonna make it home today? Am I gonna make it to work? Can I go to the grocery store? Like what is happening?
Yeah. I mean they went out for their things in day to day life and they just never came home. It's about freedom and it just suddenly feels all Very threatening and everyone's feeling very vulnerable.
One of the victims was was a jogger. I and you both are into fitness, you both are into running, trail running. How do you go about that pursuit at at the moment, Elizabeth?
You know, as it is, I'm already very vigilant. You know, my family has me on fine. My friends, so do my friends. They have my live location. They know what I'm wearing. I have about five or six roots mapped out in my head. You know, I make sure I don't have any jewelry on me before I leave the house or anything that'll draw attention to me, even down to what I'm kind of wearing. Let me not wear like a crop top or short or anything too revealing so that I don't attract un. Necessary attention to myself on my run. I'll message my family and say, listen, if I'm not back in 40 minutes and half an hour, you need to now start looking for me or get worried because this is how long it should be taking me. This is a route I am taking.
And even on the run, I'm constantly aware of my surroundings. You know, I'm checking over my shoulder all the time. How long has this car been following me? Okay, this man just crossed the street, he's running or he's walking on the same path as me.
How are female runners adapting their habits to stay safe after the murders?
You let me now quickly change my route. Let me run past, you know, quite a busier street where there's a lot of complexes and, you know, complex security. Let me just be in public and still trying to keep myself safe, you know, not get hit by a car and where something should be so normal. It's just you're just going for a run, you're just exercising, you're decompressing for the day, and even that gives me high levels of anxiety and high levels of stress.
You know, as a running club, there's a lot of focus on safety already, like Elizabeth's saying, that you do for yourself as well. So, you know, there is pace groups, there are sweepers at the back, we know who's going out. And uh make sure that they're accounted for when they come back.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What recent femicide cases sparked the national outcry in South Africa?
0:00–3:28
2
How are female runners adapting their habits to stay safe after the murders?
3:28–6:29
3
What did survivors of domestic abuse reveal about the impact of violence on their daily lives?
6:29–9:39
4
How does stigma prevent women from speaking about abuse in South Africa?
9:39–12:37
5
What practical tools and technologies are NGOs providing to protect women?
12:37–15:31
6
How are community safety networks coordinated with police and social services?
15:31–19:03
7
What policy actions are the South African government and activists urging to curb gender‑based violence?
19:03–23:04
8
What steps can individuals take right now to keep themselves and their families safe?
23:04–26:08