Families bear the trauma of femicide

Justice must take on a multi-layered approach

- LETHABO MOTLOUNG

THE Bolwana* and Vayo* families are currently at odds with one another over the murder of their first granddaughter, who was brutally killed by her father, Stan Vayo *. The perpetrator has since been arrested, appeared before the Mthatha Magistrates Court, and ordered to undergo a full psychological assessment at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital before the criminal case can proceed.

Yet this legal step offers little comfort. Both families remain suspended in grief, trapped in emotional turmoil, guilt, and the profound rupture that femicide leaves within a family system.

This tragedy is not an isolated incident. Globally, recent femicide estimates reveal that nearly 50 000 women and girls were killed by their partners last year, with Africa showing the highest number of intimate partner/ family member femicide incidences per region. In South Africa, recent media reports indicate a sharp increase in this crime; however, no official monitor exists which actively tracks cases of femicide when reported.

Conviction rates for the crime are also reportedly low, with less than 1 in 5 of intimate-partner femicide cases ending in a court judgement.

While criminal justice is key to ensuring families and friends of the victim receive the meaningful closure they deserve, current policing and judicial processes lack sensitivity to the psychosocial needs of the bereaved during investigation, trial and post-conviction.