A man is like a pumpkin – he spreads his seed. A woman is like a turnip – she grows from inside.
“The police didn’t come, even though I rang several times.”
Name: Luciana
Age: 44
Last year, on Christmas Eve, after we’d separated, I was at a friend’s party, and he found out. When I left the party he was waiting in the street. He dragged me into the bushes, broke my wrist and beat my face up. I had a deep cut on my head too. I came straight to this women’s police station LÄNK till förändrare and the police took me to hospital. They gave me a medical certificate for the injuries, and after that it didn’t take long to get a protection order, but there still hasn’t been a trial. I don’t know what he can be convicted for. It won’t be called attempted murder, just assault.
He threatened to shoot me, or to cut my throat.
I bumped into him again recently, a few weeks ago, when I was in a bar with my friends. He came in and started arguing with me; he threatened to shoot me, or to cut my throat. I said I was going to call the police, because he’s not allowed within 200 metres of me. “Go ahead and call,” he said. The police didn’t come, even though I rang several times.
Now I’ve come to the police station LÄNK till förändrare to report the latest incident. He’s broken the terms of the protection order and could be arrested for that, according to the court. I’ve got the papers about the protection order here. I hope something happens soon.
Maternal deaths: 58 deaths per l00,000 births
Number of children/woman: 2.18
Abortion legislation: Abortion is not legal. It is only allowed if the woman’s life is at risk or if she has been the victim of rape or incest.
Law against rape within marriage: Yes
Violence against women in close relationships: 41,532 women were murdered in the years 1997-2007. That implies 10 women every day. The majority were murdered by men they knew. In the first six months of 2010 over 40,000 incidents of violence against women were reported.
Saying, South Africa