An American documentary is raising awareness of issues of ‘corrective rape’, physical abuse, poverty and HIV-related deaths in South Africa by highlighting how football can impact on the lives of women enduring these situations.

The film, called ‘The Beautiful Game’, follows the lives of five players of the Port Elizabeth team City Ladies who share a common the passion for football and intertwined with their life stories. The film shows their struggle to be accepted as footballers and their contribution to help liberate women in South Africa from rape, violence and social prejudices through football.

Danny Turken Director and Producer of the documentary described the goals of the project, “We hope the Beautiful Game is more than a film, that through the universal language of football it can serve as a catalyst to motivate social change throughout the world. Our hope is to educate and inspire through the commonality of experience”.

Violence against Women in SA
In South Africa statistics say that every hour six new cases of rape are reported. From April 2011 to March 2012, sexual crime cases numbering 64514 were reported to the police.

The South African Medical Research Council’s gender and health research unit believes the numbers are twice as high because rape is “monumentally under reported”.

The UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was on the 25 November, and through the ‘The Beautiful Game’ we are reminded that sport can play an important tool to empower women and communities and raise awareness on all forms of violence and discrimination.