Violence and terror behind the front door, by the man of the house. That is the subject of a documentary that Omroep Brabant broadcasts on Sunday morning. In the film, the relatives speak of Gea and Yke. Their violent death actually saw nobody coming, or is it? The documentary elaborates on the theme of women’s murder, also known as femicide.
“A woman has the greatest chance of being killed in her own house. The perpetrator is in most cases her (ex) partner. ” With that text, the documentary ‘Not out of nowhere’ starts that Omroep Brabant broadcasts on Sunday. For the two main characters, the deadly violence did not come out of nowhere.
Like Gea Godwaldt from Made. Gea himself speaks, through audio and video messages that she recorded. In it she talks about the crisis in her marriage. He got so out of hand that she called the police. “If he is raised for a while, it will be an unguided projectile,” she says about her husband.
Gea experienced that he threatened to die the dog with a screwdriver. Gea no longer pulled this and wanted to divorce. He didn’t pick that up and killed her and then herself in May 2020.
Because it was murder and suicide, that did not lead to an extensive criminal investigation and not to registration such as femicide. And with that a problem is already indicated in this film: not everything is registered.
The other woman who was murdered is Yke Engel. A single Tilburg mother. She became friends with a man. And she took him temporarily at home. But her roommate suffered from delusions. He started checking Yke. Those psychoses were also reported in the assistance, but they did not intervene. The roommate portrayed that Yke laughed at him. In October 2022, Yke was stabbed to death in her sleep.
Two women, two sad stories. Selected by Floor Foole and Marleen Kuijsters, with camera work by Elmer van Bree. And support from the Tilburgs Media Fund.
For Floor Foole the inspiration for this documentary was close. “I heard Saskia Belleman in a podcast and I read a book about femicide in Mexico. But here too I saw it in the news reports, just around the corner.”
Very current, but a theme with quite a few hooks and eyes. Like the few hard figures. “Eighty percent of the murders of women are in the relational atmosphere, but yes, is that femicide? There is also division about the definition of femicide. Just like that other you often hear, that there is a femicide every eight days.”
Toxic
Floor thought it was some searching for the facts. “There was never a trial in the case of Gea. But the police of course did investigate. The relatives were vulnerable and still dared to tell their story. And we have the audio and video of Gea.”
For the makers it is paramount that they want to prove that there is a problem. “Quite a lot of people are stuck in a poisonous relationship. They are ashamed of it and do not want to burden others.”
The documentary zooms in on Tilburg projects, such as the Domestic Violence Expertise Platform, with experiential experts. And the awareness campaigns. The city tries to be the leader.
The hope for the documentary makers and the speakers is that a discussion starts. And that there is a search for opportunities to prevent murders. That is not only in better policy or more staff. But also take seriously in reports and look forward to each other. And talk about warning signals and unequal relationships.
“You need the whole society for this. But you hear one of the speakers say: hold each other, don’t let go. I understand that you don’t want to hang your dirty laundry outside, but it’s also about you, your neighbor, your aunt,” says Floor.
Watch the Sunday Doc ‘Not out of the blue’ on Sunday, September 14 at 11.20 am.