The Paralympic and Olympic champion Oscar Pistorious was released from a South Africa prison after serving 9 years for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp,  in February 2013. The former athlete will move to a luxurious Villa in the Waterkloof neighbourhood of Pretoria after obtaining parole from the African justice system.

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Gauteng sentenced Pistorious for 6 years after he had shot and killed his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day of 2013. That sentence was later annulled and substituted with that of the Appeal Court ,which sentenced the athlete to 13 years of imprisonment. However, last November, a parole board made Pistorious eligible for freedom after he served half of his penalty.

Singabakho Nxumalo, a spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS), said that although Pistorious was released, he will still be subjected to parole conditions until his sentence expires in 2029. Steenkamp’s mother commented on the Court’s decision, saying that no justice nor time served will ever be able bring her daughter back; and those who are truly serving a life sentence are Reeva’s loved ones.

Pistorious shot Reeva fours time through a locked bathroom door in his home in Pretoria. In Court, he maintained that he did not kill her following a violent outburst. Instead, he claimed he had mistaken her for an intruder. Initially, he was sentenced to five years for manslaughter. However, after the appeal, the High Court overturned the former conviction for murder and added another four years to his sentence.

Pistorious became eligible for parole in March 2023 due to South African Law, which states that inmates who serve half of their sentence and meet certain conditions, such as good behaviour, are eligible for parole.

This incident represents only one of many acts of violence that regularly occur against women in South Africa. In the first quarter of 2022 alone, there have been around 10,818 rape cases reported. Furthermore, gender-equality is, generally, a huge issue in the country. For instance, political economist Tinuade Adekunbi Ojo explains that South African women have difficulty accessing their financial information or services without a man’s assistance. Government policies are not designed to be run by women, and most women lose their income when they are on maternity leave.

Pistorious’ imprisonment and release caught the world’s attention. Most people disagree with the court’s decision to release him. Nevertheless, he will not only be constantly subjected to police surveillance, but he will also have to attend programs on gender-based violence and will continue anger management therapy. Political scientist Amanda Gouws argues that widespread violence against women in South Africa and beyond might only come to an end through interventions focusing on ontological violence and the purging of hypermasculinity.