More and more people are committing family killings because they are “catching”, a director for Family and Life Centre (Famsa) said on Monday.
“Sometimes it [family killings] is publicised too much. Then it becomes catching [to commit family killings]. I think it’s very tragic. We don’t have the right to decide for our families,” Liz Dooley, director of Famsa, said in Johannesburg.
Dooley’s comments follow a bloody fortnight for some South African families.
Just over the weekend, 15 people died when men opened fire on their families.
In Malmesbury in the Western Cape, a man allegedly killed his wife, their baby daughter, his mother, aunt and himself over the weekend.
Also on Saturday, Kgomoyakata Mphahlele from Lebowakgomo in Limpopo allegedly killed his son, shot his girlfriend and then committed suicide after an argument with his girlfriend. The 24-year old girlfriend is reportedly in a critical condition in hospital.
Bellville near Cape Town saw the death, by shooting, of three people after an argument between a couple turned deadly.
“Killings are becoming too familiar in South Africa. I think it’s a sign of desperation … of anger, hurt … not being able to provide for their families,” said Dooley.
People who feel this way should not isolate themselves, but should actively look for assistance in solving their problems, she said.
“They need to talk to someone. They need to know that there is a way out. We need to market help lines, help centres … letting people know where they can receive help if a problem becomes too great to handle,” said Dooley.
Most common causes
The emancipation of women, the switching of traditional roles in the household, infidelity and financial difficulties are the most common causes of family murders in South Africa, said Dr Christiaan Bezuidenhout, University of Pretoria criminologist.
“If a man can’t support his family any more, he might opt to kill all of them instead of leaving them to be a burden on others.
“No one told a man brought up in a traditional home [where men head the households] that women would have the same role or the leading role in their households,” Bezuidenhout said.
Although very little research has been done on the subject, because all the subjects are dead, research have identified two types of family murders, said Bezuidenhout.
First there is the murder-suicide. This is mostly spur-of-the-moment killings, where the man is mostly inebriated and, for example, finds that his wife had extramarital affairs.
“Something small would set them off. Pressure of joblessness, for example, might be mounting and then coming home to find that dinner is not yet ready,” Bezuidenhout said.
The second is known as extended suicide, where meticulous planning is done. The perpetrator usually drugs the victims and, while they are sleeping, commits the murders, he said.
“The latter are usually very desperate .. mostly [with] financial problems, and sometimes murders are planned months in advance,” he said.
Men mostly use firearms when killing their families, while women opt for the “softer approach” — sleeping pills, poison or arson.
Said Bezuidenhout: “While historically it’s been mostly white Afrikaner males [who commit family killings], it’s interesting to see that the latest research shows that the field, in terms of race and gender, has been levelled.
“I believe it is because of equality in society and in the labour market.”
Like Dooley, he believes that counselling is the only method of preventing family killings.
“If you feel you are desperate, please seek help … talk to someone.”
Signs of danger
Despite the lack of research on family killings, there are some signs to look out for, said Bezuidenhout.
These include extreme personality changes. An extrovert might become introverted and vice versa.
“In one case, a man in financial trouble took his family to Sun City for a shopping spree, treating them on his credit card for a weekend. Then he murdered them all.”
He urged colleagues and friends of people they suspect might need help to talk to them, and where possible, advise them to seek counselling.
Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) said it is “deeply concerned about the spate of gun-related family killings”.
“Tragically, guns brought into a home to protect loved ones very often are used against those very same people, leading to senseless tragedies,” said Reverend Greg Andrews, a spokesperson for GFSA.
Andrews called on gun owners to make use of the amnesty period that ends on June 30 to hand in their guns.
“Guns handed in will ultimately be destroyed and so will never be used against another person. This is just what South Africa needs to reclaim safety and security.
“Repeatedly, conflict between loved ones has gone out of control and guns have been brought out and used in senseless killing,” he said.
In a statement denouncing the spate of family killings, Andrews quoted a report by a Red Cross Children’s hospital doctor that said 75 children in Cape Town alone were shot in family killings in the past three years.
According to the report, the children were used as human shields.
Andrews urged police to enforce the Firearms Control Act strictly as a means of curtailing family killings. — Sapa
People who need counselling can call Famsa on Tel: (011) 788 4784 or 082 231 0370 during office hours