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Oscar Pistorius was the perfect South African sporting hero because victory over his disability made him a universally admired figure in a still-divided society. The profoundly macho culture he grew up in spans racial groups and provides some explanation for the country's shocking rates of domestic violence.
"Black South African men are expected to prove their manliness by carrying knives and having lots of girlfriends,'' said Rachel Jewkes of the South African Medical Research Council. "White Afrikaners like Pistorius do not need to have several girlfriends. But his love of guns speaks to the same hunger to prove his masculinity in the South African context."
The full facts about the death of model Reeva Steenkamp have yet to emerge, but to South Africans her death came on the eve of the Black Friday Campaign for Rape Awareness in honour of Anene Booysen. The 17-year-old died after her ex-boyfriend and others allegedly gang raped and disembowelled her on 2 February.
"The massive problem we need to understand in South Africa is the level of men's violence against women and against each other,'' said Lisa Vetten, a researcher who specialises in domestic abuse. Police statistics on domestic violence are limited. But 15,609 murders and 64,500 reported rapes in 2011-12 suggest massive levels of violence in South African homes.
Household surveys by the MRC have found that 40% of men have hit their partner and one in four men have raped a woman. Three-quarters of men who admit to having raped women say they did so first as teenagers. The MRC found that, while a quarter of women had been raped, just 2% of those raped by a partner reported the incident to police.
Experts say South African society features all the known causes of rape and violence, including a historical culture of "might is right", a wealth gap that makes men feel weak, an unequal relationship between women and men, lack of adequate childcare, which results in the neglect of boys, and high male unemployment.
South Africa's macho society, where attacks on women are the norm | World news | The Observer
Johannesburg: South African police have found a bloodied cricket bat at the home of Oscar Pistorius, a local newspaper reported on Sunday, following the Valentine's Day killing of his model girlfriend. The star Olympian and Paralympian athlete was charged on Friday with the murder of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp who was shot dead at his luxury Pretoria home in a case that has gripped the world.
Police sources close to the investigation told the independent City Press newspaper that Steenkamp's skull had been "crushed". "There was lots of blood on the bat," one source told the paper. Police are investigating whether the bat was used to assault Steenkamp, who was shot four times in the early hours of Thursday, or if she used it to defend herself.
Police have dismissed initial suggestions that Pistorius, 26, could have mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder, and City Press said she was wearing a nightie at the time of the killing. "The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and hid herself in the toilet... He fire three more shots," a police source told City Press.
http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/item/203725-police-find-bloodied-cricket-bat-at-pistorius-home-report
(CBS News) LONDON - CBS News has learned police believe Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend of Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, was in her nightgown in the bedroom when she was first shot. She slept in the same bed as Pistorius, police said. She then ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside, where she was shot in the head, hand and arm. Pistorius reportedly broke through the bathroom door and carried his dying girlfriend down the stairs.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57569823/new-details-emerge-in-pistorius-murder-case/
Oscar Pistorius was the perfect South African sporting hero because victory over his disability made him a universally admired figure in a still-divided society. The profoundly macho culture he grew up in spans racial groups and provides some explanation for the country's shocking rates of domestic violence.
"Black South African men are expected to prove their manliness by carrying knives and having lots of girlfriends,'' said Rachel Jewkes of the South African Medical Research Council. "White Afrikaners like Pistorius do not need to have several girlfriends. But his love of guns speaks to the same hunger to prove his masculinity in the South African context."
The full facts about the death of model Reeva Steenkamp have yet to emerge, but to South Africans her death came on the eve of the Black Friday Campaign for Rape Awareness in honour of Anene Booysen. The 17-year-old died after her ex-boyfriend and others allegedly gang raped and disembowelled her on 2 February.
"The massive problem we need to understand in South Africa is the level of men's violence against women and against each other,'' said Lisa Vetten, a researcher who specialises in domestic abuse. Police statistics on domestic violence are limited. But 15,609 murders and 64,500 reported rapes in 2011-12 suggest massive levels of violence in South African homes.
Household surveys by the MRC have found that 40% of men have hit their partner and one in four men have raped a woman. Three-quarters of men who admit to having raped women say they did so first as teenagers. The MRC found that, while a quarter of women had been raped, just 2% of those raped by a partner reported the incident to police.
Experts say South African society features all the known causes of rape and violence, including a historical culture of "might is right", a wealth gap that makes men feel weak, an unequal relationship between women and men, lack of adequate childcare, which results in the neglect of boys, and high male unemployment.
South Africa's macho society, where attacks on women are the norm | World news | The Observer
Johannesburg: South African police have found a bloodied cricket bat at the home of Oscar Pistorius, a local newspaper reported on Sunday, following the Valentine's Day killing of his model girlfriend. The star Olympian and Paralympian athlete was charged on Friday with the murder of 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp who was shot dead at his luxury Pretoria home in a case that has gripped the world.
Police sources close to the investigation told the independent City Press newspaper that Steenkamp's skull had been "crushed". "There was lots of blood on the bat," one source told the paper. Police are investigating whether the bat was used to assault Steenkamp, who was shot four times in the early hours of Thursday, or if she used it to defend herself.
Police have dismissed initial suggestions that Pistorius, 26, could have mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder, and City Press said she was wearing a nightie at the time of the killing. "The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and hid herself in the toilet... He fire three more shots," a police source told City Press.
http://sports.ndtv.com/othersports/athletics/item/203725-police-find-bloodied-cricket-bat-at-pistorius-home-report
(CBS News) LONDON - CBS News has learned police believe Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend of Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, was in her nightgown in the bedroom when she was first shot. She slept in the same bed as Pistorius, police said. She then ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside, where she was shot in the head, hand and arm. Pistorius reportedly broke through the bathroom door and carried his dying girlfriend down the stairs.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57569823/new-details-emerge-in-pistorius-murder-case/
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