SA’s rape stats highlight the need for urgent action

South Africa’s stubbornly high rate of murder and rape has once again come under sharp focus, with crime statics for the period between October and December last year revealing that a staggering 4 124 people were murdered and 12 218 raped.

Releasing the crime figures in Pretoria on Friday morning, police minister Bheki Cele said a total of 2 481 people were murdered in public places like on the street, open field, parking areas, and abandoned buildings, while 1 643 were murdered at their homes.

“The statistics … expose some of the gaps that exist in policing certain crime categories. They also lay bare, some of the policing shortcomings experienced in certain provinces. The National Crime Statistics from October to December 2020 do not paint a good picture, and hence force us as SAPS to dig deep and put the shoulder to the wheel,” he said.

Shenilla Mohamed, executive director of Amnesty International South Africa, said the figures indicate that on average, about 136 rape cases were reported rape a day.

“This cannot be tolerated. Urgent action is needed to ensure the safety and protection of all in SA. It is also important to note that these are only the cases that have been reported to the police, and one could surmise that there are more victims and survivors than the official figures, given the under-reporting of rape in the country,” Mohamed said in a statement.

She said these figures demonstrated that violence continues to plague SA and that immediate and significant government and societal action was needed to end gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

“South Africa’s war on women and girls must be stopped, and it must be stopped now,” Mohamed said.

Cele said this was a 6.6 % increase in the number of people murdered compared to the same period in 2019, meaning 389 more people were killed compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year. A total of 193 of the murders were as a result of domestic violence.

Mpumalanga province recorded the highest increase of 13, 7% when compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year whilst Limpopo, North West and Northern Cape provinces recorded a decline in their murder cases.

A 5% increase has been recorded for Sexual offences detected as a result of police action in the reporting period, with 181 or 1.5% more people raped compared to 2019.

More than 4 900 of the rape incidents took place at the home of the victim or the home of the rapist, 570 domestic violence related and 547 of rape cases in this category, involved female victims and 23 were males.

Inanda, Umlazi in Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape’s Lusikisiki police stations recorded the highest incidents of rape.

“Many people die where they are supposed to be safe, they either die at the place of the perpetrator or the place of the victim which tells you the story that these are people who know each other…this matter of rape, even murder, is a societal matter that most of us have to be involved,” the minister.

As if to underscore the value of the now-suspended ban on alcohol sales, Cele said liquor outlets were the third most likely place for someone to be killed in South Africa.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.