On the surface, most of us all acknowledge that domestic abuse is bad and cruel and something that needs to be dealt with. Most of us agree that anyone who commits horrible acts of violence against women should be stopped and punished. A lot of us even actively campaign to put an end to it. But is this just all talk and no action?
One in three women will experience violence during her lifetime, often at the hands of an intimate partner. Violence has been proved to be a bigger threat to women’s health than cancer, malaria and road accidents combined. It is concerning that such a high number of women around the world are still subject to domestic violence, and even more concerning that these acts of violence are often caused by someone close to her, and often overlooked by others close to her.
A social experiment to test people’s reactions to domestic abuse was carried out in a residential area in Johannesburg. Using hidden cameras, organisation POWA reveals the heartbreaking “look-the-other-way” attitude most people have adopted towards violence against women.
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