The normalisation of femicide in South Africa

FEMICIDE, gender-based violence (GBV), and violence in general have become an integral part of life for South African women.

- BONOLO MAHLATSI

This horrendous crime is a national crisis, plaguing society as a whole. Despite South Africa's robust legal framework, policies and strategic plans aimed at tackling GBV and femicide, they are still escalating and appear to be deeply rooted in societal norms. The epidemic of femicide South Africa is and has been facing is misogyny amplified, normalised, and reproduced. It has become normal for women to be violated and ostracised while already being vulnerable.

The violence against women, and its normalisation, has once again come under the spotlight with the murder of Olorato Mongale, who was killed by a man she went on a first date with. The unfortunate and untimely passing of Olorato, a reminder of what South Africa has become for women, hit home for many individuals, including her friends who tried to find her after her phone location indicated she was in a dangerous place. Upon realising she was missing, social media posts were circulated seeking assistance from the public about her whereabouts. Olorato was a postgraduate student. Her body was found in Lombardy West in Johannesburg on Sunday less than two hours after she was picked up.