Some GBV activists show sympathy for Eldorado Park mother linked to abuse of deceased daughter
The woman, who is also pregnant, was seen crying in court on Monday when she and her husband abandoned their bail applications.
The Eldorado Park couple accused of abuse and murder of their 4-year-old daughter appeared at the Protea Magistrates' court on Monday, 18 August 2025. Picture: Simphiwe Nkosi/ EWN.
JOHANNESBURG - Some gender-based activists from Eldorado Park have shown sympathy to the mother arrested alongside her husband for the rape and murder of their four-year-old daughter.
The woman, who is also pregnant, was seen crying in court on Monday when she and her husband abandoned their bail applications.
Activist Zelda van der Merwe says that usually, in gender-based violence cases, when a woman is also a victim of abuse and fears for her life, she does not report crimes that the perpetrator is committing.
The man is charged with rape, compelled rape, murder, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and child abuse.
While she is charged with murder, child abuse and failing to report a sexual assault on a minor.
"I don't think any woman would want her child to be raped and all these things because she is a woman. When you are in an abusive relationship, it's not easy to come out it's just sad the way things came out now," said Van der Merwe.