South African Domestic Abuse Video Shocks Viewers (VIDEO)

A South African advocacy group's powerful ad about the realities of domestic abuse has become an Internet sensation, the Guardian is reporting.

Produced by People Opposing Women Abuse (or POWA), the experimental new video begins with a scene showing a young musician practicing on a drum set while at home in a Johannesburg apartment complex. Within minutes, miffed neighbors arrive at the man's doorstep and hand him a written warning for creating the noise. Later, a recording of a violent domestic dispute -- complete with sounds of glasses smashing and a woman's screams -- plays at maximum volume, yet none of the neighbors respond. The clip concludes with a stark message: "Every year 1,400 women are killed by their partners."

POWA officials say they were astonished at the lack of response to the violent recording. "We were astonished," Fran Luckin, the advertising executive who created the film, told the Guardian. "People complained about the drums within minutes...I think nobody really believes that someone dies in a domestic argument."

Attracting over 500,000 views, the video's surge in popularity reportedly comes on the heels of a disturbing survey conducted in South Africa's Gauteng province, which found 37.4% of local men admitting to at least one act of rape.

Watch the full POWA clip here:

Comments

[furby4]

10:57 AM on 12/06/2010

I'm a woman and I once mustered up the courage to knock on the neighbour's door when I heard domestic violence in that apartment. The man answered the door, I told him to stop or I would call police. He threatened me. I called police. They came two hours later. I had to move after that because he intimidated me at every opportunity after that. I couldn't even talk to the woman to suggest a few organizations that can help her. She would not step out or answer the door when her husband wasn't around. The police cared less than zero and probably wouldn't have responded were they not duty bound to do so. A two hour delay in response to domestic violence just doesn't cut it. PS - I'm in Canada.

[cceras]

11:27 AM on 12/06/2010

F & F for the courage to act. If more people took your inititive there would undoubtably be more pressure on authorities to act more quickly and the abused might feel they had somewhere to turn.

[furby4]

11:34 AM on 12/06/2010

Thank you for your kind words but I didn't really feel like I made a difference and the woman's inability to help herself, or her paralysis by fear, was disheartening. My tiny little intervention felt like a drop in the bucket and until I moved away from there, I feared for my safety. Would I do it again? I'd call police but I wouldn't knock on that door. Problem is, even if I didn't knock on that door, the abuser would figure out who called the cops pretty quickly.

[harmonikasavingsbonds]

09:44 AM on 12/06/2010

POWERFUL.

[carnitine]

11:53 AM on 12/05/2010

http://falserapesociety.blogspot.com/

'Feminists Disrupt a Forum About Battered Husbands'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qodygTkTUYM

[realitytrumpsbull]

03:28 PM on 12/04/2010

Be blunt about it, when push comes to shove, women tend to come up second-best in the old domestic dispute. Which is why women need to organize themselves, and 'beat feet' if they're involved with a wife beater. Some men(and some women too) are psychotic control freaks, and going home and slapping the wife around is a nice way to pass the afternoon, gives them someone to dominate. 
But, is it more of the same-o, same-o, boss yells at the man, goes home, slaps the wife, wife beats the kid, kid kicks the dog, dog bites the mailman, that kind of thing? The world is getting to be a crowded place, and when people are in competition, they tend to get more aggressive, like rats living in a cage.  

There is much to be recommended about the single life, if your relationships with others are less than they might be...and the first black eye should be the last. 

How is the S. African police dept. on domestic violence? How about the public themselves? Is wife-beating a national pastime there? How about here in the US? What happens to spouse abusers, male OR female(they're out there)?

[abuja19]

11:54 PM on 12/03/2010

Damn. Powerful stuff. It is a sad truth that sadly many people don't want to or don't think about acknowledging.

[Untameable]

04:40 PM on 12/03/2010

I don't buy it one bit.
First, that could have been male on male or even female on male and nobody would have responded.
Second, a deliberate noise like music could on for hours while disputes are usually short.

[rosiebond007]

03:44 PM on 12/05/2010

maybe .......

short because they are 'deathly' disputes ???

[Concerned1]

12:09 PM on 12/03/2010

WOW this should be shown all over the place. WOW

[topkatnc]

11:02 AM on 12/03/2010

Some advice to young girls ... when you are dating a young man .. pay attention to how the young man treats his mother and sisters .. that might help you see how he views the women in his life ... there are many red flags out there and we should teach our daughters how to look for them ...

[RavenWest]

03:26 PM on 12/03/2010

it's more than just how he treats the other women in his life, although that might be a clue. I don't think it's as reliable of an indicator as one may think.

[topkatnc]

06:09 PM on 12/04/2010

I was in an abusive relationship for 33 years .. divorced in 2005 ... when we were dating he told me he hated his mother .. that was a red flag ... I just didn't know it ...

[furby4]

11:00 AM on 12/06/2010

Young women with self-esteem don't need to be coached about the warning signs. Young women with no self-esteem fall prey to violent men. Good parenting is everything. A woman should be able to spot the signs long before meeting the family.

[gayleg]

09:35 PM on 12/02/2010

WHAT??

[Red45]

01:34 PM on 12/02/2010

Wow. Very powerful.

[JtownesquireAgain]

11:18 AM on 12/02/2010

I almost got arrested for going to my girlfriend's (now wife's) neighbors house and dragging the "man" (I use that term loosely), out because I could hear him assaulting his wife and 3 year old.

That's right, the cops came and the wife didn't want to press charges but supported her husband's account that I broke in and assaulted him for no reason. Luckily, the other neighbors, who apparently knew this went on regularly, gave statements to the cops and supported my actions. Sadly, within a week, I again heard fighting. I tried to remember the lesson learned, but was again overcome with the need to protect the helpless 3 year old, since his mother obviously wouldn't. Only this time I was smarter...called the cops first...then proceeded to yell to the man that I was about to smash every window in his car...he came out to protect it...just as the cops arrived....took a swing at me...I then proceeded to "educate" him on fighting as the cops found a parking space, gathered their equipment, and made their way to our location. This guy apparently took a swing or two at the cops, got in fights while in jail, etc... His wife has managed to secure a divorce, terminate his parental rights, and move very far away from him.

Unfortunately, many people fear the reprisal they will get when the woman takes the guy back, or that they will face charges for intervening, etc.

[JTJMOMEDTEK]

11:41 AM on 12/02/2010

Fanned, you are a true hero! Let's hope the mother's taste in men improved.

[Darwinita]

03:24 PM on 12/03/2010

Don't bet on it, sadly enough.

[Iwpach]

06:09 PM on 12/02/2010

Most bullies are cowards,who lack the strength of character needed,not to make others hurt the way they've been hurt.

[topkatnc]

10:56 AM on 12/03/2010

So true ....

[cceras]

11:32 AM on 12/06/2010

Wow! First time I've seen it summed up so precisely in so few words. No truer words.

[JonGreen]

02:00 AM on 12/02/2010

I grew up in a violent home and have come to the conclusion most people will listen to a child being beaten to death through the wall without so much as lifting a finger to dial 911.

[JTJMOMEDTEK]

11:43 AM on 12/02/2010

When I was a kid I used to hear the neighbor kids getting beaten late at night when their father returned home form the bars. I asked my parents if we could do something and they told me it was none of our business. I never understood that since my parents really are caring people , but I never forgot and when I see a kid being treated badly, even if it's verbal. I speak up.

[Red45]

01:38 PM on 12/02/2010

Good for you. Children need us to speak up.  F+F

[EnlightenMe]

08:42 PM on 12/03/2010

I once saw a boy being beat by a man while traveling in the car. I stared at the man in my rear view mirror so ferociously that he noticed, pulled around me, stopped dead in the middle of the road, and tried to block my passage. I swerved and avoided hitting him, but he followed me until I pulled in to a gas station. While he was getting out of the car, I asked the boy if he was OK. He barely nodded yes. I stood up to this mountain of a man, and he never hit me, but I will always ALWAYS regret not getting the license plate number of the vehicle and reporting him. The boy could have been abducted - he looked terrified. I was terrified for my safety, too, and I didn't have the presence of mind to get the license plate. :(

[llisa]

01:41 AM on 12/02/2010

Excellent video.

[MrSimythe]

06:49 PM on 12/01/2010

Honestly this vid should go viral. This message is one that needs to resonate around the world, as domestic violence is prevalent in every community across the globe. I applaud POWA for making this vid. I will be posting it on my Facebook wall.

[carnitine]

08:10 PM on 12/01/2010

Do you acknowledge female on male domestic abuse?

[Red45]

01:41 PM on 12/02/2010

It happens but it's rare. However, those cases shouldn't be treated any differently from male on female abuse. And, truth be told, they are handled differently in the American justice system.
The fact is that if a woman actually kills her husband in this country, she gets an average of 20 years in prison. But if a man kills his wife in this country, he gets an average of 2 years in prison.

[Iwpach]

06:11 PM on 12/02/2010

None should be abused regardless of gender or orientation.

[jinsei]

04:39 PM on 12/01/2010

What mothers teach their daughters makes all the difference! Unfortunately, there are too many women around the world who are complicit in their own victimization.

I think about female genital mutilation is a great example of how women are brainwashed to abuse other women/girls- usually only females perform FGM, not males. Mothers force their daughters into forced marriages at young ages. Mothers fail to stand up for their daughters. Mothers perpetuate the double standard of attitudes toward sex. Mothers create misogynistic sons.

I am a woman who thanks her lucky stars for having a mother who fought for her rights, rather than become resigned to second-class status. Unfortunately my mother never fulfilled her wish of becoming a city-planner because in her day, women were not allowed to do such jobs.

[carnitine]

08:11 PM on 12/01/2010

How do you feel about male circumcision? That too is genital mutilation.

[EnlightenMe]

08:44 PM on 12/03/2010

Thank you! So many people look at me cross-eyed when I say this. Just because it's been a cultural norm doesn't make it right.

[Red45]

01:44 PM on 12/02/2010

I agree with you and would add that girls who grow up loved and cherished by their parents are very unlikely to tolerate an abusive relationship or to go looking for love at an early age and starting an abusive cycle. We all, not just us mothers, need to love and cherish our girls more so they respect themselves when they grow up.

[jinsei]

08:13 AM on 12/03/2010

Totally agreed!