‘The murder of women, by the men who claim to love them is a worldwide problem, and the UK is not exempt from this,’ says Sally Hope, as she discusses why the Church needs step up to be part of the solution.
On Sunday 1st September, after returning home from church with her two daughters, Ugandan Olympic marathon runner, Rebecca Cheptegei, was doused in petrol and set alight by her ex-boyfriend. She died five days later.
Two other East African athletes have been murdered by their partners recently, Agnes Tirop in 2021 and Damaris Mutua a year later, and who can forget Oscar Pistorius murdering Reeva Steenkamp a few years previously?
It’s tempting for those of us in the West to engage in cultural snobbery, to chalk this up to the “savagery” of the African nations. Indeed in its reporting of the story the BBC writes “Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya. In 2022 at least 34% of women said they had experienced physical violence, according to a national survey.”
It’s tempting for those of us in the West to engage in cultural snobbery, to chalk this up to the “savagery” of the African nations.
However, the murder of women, by the men who claim to love them is a worldwide problem, and the UK is not exempt from this. Only last month the Guardian reported that 50 women have been killed by men so far in the UK in 2024.
We can’t even claim that the U.K is exempt from this nature of killing, women are burned alive by their romantic partners here as well: in 2019 Ann Drummond was set alight by her former partner Kevin Marks and there are several other similar incidents going back years. If this kind of thing is a cultural phenomenon it is a cultural phenomenon here as well.
These incidents don’t come out of nowhere.
These incidents don’t come out of nowhere. Men who kill their partners usually do so after years of abuse. Often women seek help but not enough is done to protect them, domestic homicide reviews regularly find that their reports of abuse are not taken seriously enough.
In Ann Drummond’s case an inquiry into her death recorded that the police knew her killer had a history of domestic abuse, that they had concerns about his mental state. They knew he had made threats against her. The inquiry concluded that had they informed her of the risk he posed to her, her death could have been avoided.
When will we start to take domestic abuse and femicide seriously? How many more women have to die before we say enough is enough?
Read more on domestic abuse
There are domestic abusers in our churches
Is the UK Government’s new ‘flee fund’ for survivors of domestic abuse a good idea?
The government is taking serious action against domestic abuse but there’s more to be done
Netflix have a new true crime drama Worst Ex Ever about four cases of abusive relationships, I would hope that this kind of thing would raise awareness and encourage us all to take domestic abuse seriously, but I fear it will simply sensationalise it and turn it into a macabre form of entertainment, just like domestic abuse was entertainment for the masses during the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial.
Those of us who follow Jesus need to rise above faux outrage and macabre voyeurism and actually do something about domestic abuse and femicide. We are not immune from it. Christian women experience domestic abuse at the same rates as everyone else. Only a few months ago, American, Mica Miller, died as a result of domestic abuse from her husband, a South Carolina megachurch pastor.
Will the Church step up to be part of the solution to this worldwide epidemic? Or will it continue to be part of the problem?
To read more on the subject of domestic abuse in the church, read our WA Plus article here.
If any of these issues have affected you, you can call Premier Lifeline for support. Premier Lifeline is a national, confidential helpline offering a listening ear, emotional and spiritual support from a Christian perspective. If you would like someone to talk with and pray for you, call Premier Lifeline on 0300 111 0101.
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