'Attacks on women getting more brutal'Date Posted: Sunday 12-Aug-2007By Helen Bamford
A total of 119 women were murdered in Cape Town between this and last year's Women's Day.Exactly half were killed by their partners and 25 percent were sexually assaulted before their deaths.Even more disturbing, for forensic pathologists who examine the battered and broken bodies, is the increasing brutality of the attacks.'One woman was stabbed 104 times'Professor Lorna Martin, head of the University of Cape Town's department of forensic medicine and toxicology, said South Africans were committing murders with such violence they shocked even hardened pathologists.Martin, who is a chief specialist in the provincial department of health, said some days it was "like carnage"."One woman was stabbed 104 times; a 13-year-old was stabbed 23 times, then had her throat slit. We had a gunshot case last week where the victim had been shot 17 times."Martin, who is an international rape homicide specialist, has worked on a number of high-profile cases including that of Marike de Klerk, ex-wife of former president FW de Klerk.It was Martin who testified in court that the former first lady had been raped before being murdered at her luxury Dolphin Beach flat in 2001.Martin also handled the gruesome 2003 Sizzlers case where nine men were murdered at a gay massage parlour in Sea Point, and recently laid to rest the wild speculation on how Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer died.After watching a video of the autopsy and looking at the photographs, Martin discovered that Woolmer had died of heart failure.Her conclusion was supported by a British and a Canadian pathologist, prompting police in Jamaica to do an embarrassing U-turn following initial dramatic claims that Woolmer had been poisoned or strangled.Martin said violent crime here was not in line with international trends."Even 20 years ago we were not this violent," she said. "People have no respect for humanity."Referring to Women's Day, she said there was not much to celebrate."And I can't see anyone doing anything but paying lip service to the issue."She said August was always a "let's be nice to women" month, yet when it came to money for research everyone was loathe to contribute."Violence against women is not 'sexy' compared to HIV, for example. Yet people forget the link between HIV and violence which is so prevalent."And it's no good simply taking research from other countries - we need to do our own or adapt international models to see what works for us."Martin also expressed her dismay at Wednesday's axing of former deputy health minister Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge.In a hard-hitting statement she said Madlala-Routledge had not only been instrumental in advocating the long-overdue position of providing appropriate anti-retroviral drugs to the thousands of people suffering from Aids, but had understood the impact that violence against women had on the increasing levels of HIV among females."To fire one of the few people representing the national government who has made substantive contributions to the eradication of violence against women seems such a backward move. I am simply aghast," she said.Martin, a consultant with the World Health Organisation, is working on a Rape Homicide Project comparing figures and analysing data from 2004 to 2006 which will be compared to a study she did from 1996 to 1998.Martin said the project aimed to provide recommendations for improved autopsy practices, police reporting at crime scenes, identification of areas and behaviours of risk, and quality interventions to assess potential victims of sexual assault, rape and murder.
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