SHE FOUGHT TO SAVE WOMEN. THEY FOUND HER BODY IN A CAR BOOT.
A community champion who spent her life battling gender-based violence has been brutally murdered. Juanita Vermeulen, a 42-year-old mother and powerful advocate, was found stabbed to death in the boot of her own vehicle at an Alberton shopping centre.
Her alleged killer? Police arrested her 42-year-old husband. He had just moved out.
THIS IS THE SYSTEM FAILING IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. While flowers and candles covered Meyersdal Park during a tribute on Friday, the shocking truth is this: a leader in extracting women from abuse was killed in the exact terror she fought against. A haunting image from The Citizen shows grieving loved ones clinging to each other, their faces raw with a pain that should shock a nation into action.
Her friend and non-profit founder Sarah May delivered a gut-punch: “She stood up against anything that is GBV. So, it makes it incredibly sad that that’s the way she ended up going.” Vermeulen’s own organization, H.O.M.E., specializes in rescuing women from abusive partners. Yet, for their own leader, they “didn’t know what was happening that day.”
WHO’S REALLY PROTECTING WOMEN? A crowdfunding campaign scrambles to cover funeral costs and support her nine-year-old daughter. This is the bleak reality: even the warriors need a fundraiser for a basic burial.
The anti-GBV group Women For Change asks, “When is enough, enough?” as another woman is slaughtered.
Her husband will face court soon. But her community is left with a terrifying question she can no longer answer: if the strongest among them can be silenced this way, what hope is there for anyone else?
Author: Kayitsi.com
