In the 2012 Olympics, South Africa's Oscar Pistorious made history by becoming the first double-amputee sprinter to compete in the Olympics. Not even a year later, on Valentine's Day in February 2013, Pistorius was arrested and charged for the murder of his girlfriend, South African model Reeva Steenkamp. In September 2014, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide. But, earlier this month Judge Eric Leach overturned the previous conviction of culpable homicide to murder. The judge said the original ruling was flawed; since Pistorius shot four times at Steenkamp through the bathroom door, he should have foreseen that this many shots would kill whoever was behind the door. Despite the change in conviction, the athlete was granted bail earlier this month and has retired to his uncle's lavish mansion. The convicted murder can also travel up to 12 miles outside of the house between the hours of seven am and noon.
Steenkamp and Pistorius had only been dating for three months when he killed her. Reports claim he had a history of domestic violence. June Steenkamp says she knew there were troubles in the pair's relationship, but that she was never sure of how bad they were. She commented that, "Reeva was afraid, I think, to tell me, some of the problems. She did say they were fighting all of the time, but you don't tell your mother everything." Both her parents say that they do not wish to seek revenge on Pistorius, but hope that people will pay attention to what they consider the "real story", or the silent suffering of thousands of women from domestic violence.
June Steenkamp is right. News stories keep focusing on the legal issues of the story: Did he know that it was Reeva in the bathroom? Does it qualify as murder? Is his punishment enough? But the more important issue is that Reeva Steenkamp suffered silently in a reportedly abusive relationship for three months and was killed by her abuser. Women across the world need to be educated on abusive relationships, the warning signs in the beginning, and the gradual progression to domestic captivity. I explain in my book, Ending Domestic Violence Captivity: A Guide To Economic Freedom, how physical, emotional, and economic abuses combine to hold a victim captive. Reeva Steenkamp, just like thousands of women across the world, may have been rendered unable to think independently by the combination of abuses. After a certain point in an abusive relationship, once entrapment begins, it becomes almost impossible for the victim to seek help and leave the relationship.
The story of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp should not just focus on the fall of a "hero", but should also serve as an eye-opening tragic story of abuse that can be stopped by promoting the education of domestic violence.