Legal news and commentary from the offices of Simon Dippenaar
Reprinted from The Guardian, by Rachel Savage – 2025-06-13 Olorato Mongale, allegedly killed by man she went on date with, is latest victim of violence against women Yet again another South African woman has lost her life at the hands of a man, this time a date rather than a partner. Yet again we read […]
Domestic or intimate partner violence doesn’t always end on divorce We hear a lot about high-conflict divorce. We hear less about post-divorce violence, or post-separation abuse, to use the common nomenclature in the psychological literature. It does not differentiate between married and unmarried couples. Many family law experts believe describing a divorce as “high-conflict” often […]
Know your rights Weeks after the first Olympic Games in history to achieve gender parity and some stellar performances by women athletes in Paris, the world was shocked by the death of Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was set alight by her boyfriend in Endebess, Kenya. Cheptegei is the fourth female athlete to be […]
The payments can be used for rent, study or household essentials to help them start new lives. Reprinted from Sky News, by Tamara Cohen – 2024-01-09 Regular readers will know that we like to keep abreast of legal developments around the world as well as here in South Africa. Often we find that South African […]
Reclaiming your life after an abusive relationship Throughout 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, we’ve been looking at breaking free of an abusive relationship. It’s shocking how many women live with abuse, sometimes for decades. The problem is not unique to South Africa. It is global, oblivious to social class […]
Planning for the future after leaving an abusive relationship Key points: Establishing a support network: The role of friends, family, and domestic violence support organisations Safety precautions when confiding plans Using prepaid phones and alternative internet access to maintain secrecy Legal considerations: Prioritising legal aspects, such as obtaining protection orders and understanding custody rights Securing […]
Let 16 Days of Activism this year be the last you spend in an abusive relationship Abusive relationships take many forms. We have written about the dynamics of abusive relationships and the signs of abuse. Abuse may be physical, emotional/psychological (gaslighting, controlling you), sexual, financial (restricting your access to funds or your ability to work), […]
Know the signs of abuse and don’t be afraid to seek help Despite the many initiatives and campaigns over the years aimed at ending gender-based violence in South Africa, we still bear the unwanted title of “rape capital of the world”. A Google search for statistics on gender-based violence yields disturbing results: “Between 25% and […]
We don’t want to give him publicity, but it’s important to learn from him Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or unable to go online due to load shedding!), you will have heard of Andrew Tate. If you hadn’t heard of him before his arrest – and, despite his celebrity status on TikTok, many […]
Men need to be allowed to be vulnerable to end gender-based violence The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children has ended. But the intentions of the campaign must continue. We cannot tolerate the abuse or death of more women and girls. We’ve written recently about the root causes of gender […]
How do we change the root causes of inequality? Regular readers of our blog know we like to keep up with legal news around the world. It’s great to see where South Africa is leading the way, and where we can learn from other countries. Recently, we spotted an initiative from Scotland. The 2022-23 Programme […]
Why are we still fighting high rates of femicide? As we stagger towards the end of the year, exhausted but at least relieved that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us and life has returned to some semblance of normality (Eskom’s woes notwithstanding), it’s time once again to turn our attention to the […]
