Making the decision to leave an abusive relationship is recognised as a particularly dangerous time.
Simon Gittany’s murder trial last year was tragic proof of this; his fiancé Lisa Harnum had begun preparations to leave him when she was killed.
And so it seems that Reeva Steenkamp might also have been in the process of leaving her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius when he shot her.
Steenkamp’s mother June writes in her new book, Reeva: a Mother’s Story, that her daughter was planning to leave. “Her clothes were packed. There is no doubt in our minds: she had decided to leave Oscar that night.”
The former Paralympian says he shot Steenkamp four times through a locked door to the bathroom in his Pretoria home because he mistakenly believed there was an intruder inside.
In June Steenkamp’s book, serialized by The Times in the UK, June reveals she was “shocked” that the double amputee was only found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, calling Pistorious “arrogant”, “moody”, “volatile” and “combustible”, saying he was a “trigger-happy” gun lover who was “possessive of her daughter.
“It was Reeva’s bad luck that she met him,” said June, “because sooner or later he would’ve killed someone.”
Proceeds from the book will go towards the family’s financial assistance as well as a fundraising effort to help set up a foundation for abused women in South Africa.
If you are in an abusive relationship or know someone who is you can call the police Domestic Violence Liaison Officer at your local Police station to discuss what you know and they can make some kind of risk assessment on how to proceed. You could also make an anonymous report to the Police Assistance line on 131 444. The NSW Police have today launched their new Domestic Violence campaign encouraging bystanders to call 000 if they witness abuse. In some situations, this could save a life.
http://www.relationships.org.au/relationship-advice/publications/pdfs/safefromviolence.pdf