Between April and June this year, South Africa has seen a worrying rise in crimes against women. The chances of women being r@ped have notably increased in the Eastern Cape, Free State, and North West provinces. Alarmingly, most of the r@pe incidents reported in educational facilities occurred in schools, according to the latest crime statistics shared on Friday.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, alongside National Commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola and other senior police officials, presented the data for the first quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year. They revealed that r@pe cases have gone up by 0.6%, with the number of reported r@pes rising from 9,252 in the same period last year to 9,309 this year.
The crime report showed mixed results, with r@pe cases decreasing by 101 in April, but then increasing by 138 in May and by 20 in June. The provinces with the highest increases were Gauteng, which had 11 more cases, reaching a total of 1,921; KwaZulu-Natal, with 1,895 cases after a 16-case rise; and the Eastern Cape, which reported 1,466 cases despite an eight-case drop.
When comparing the number of r@pe cases per 100,000 people, the Eastern Cape had the highest rate at 22.1, followed by the Free State at 20.7, and the North West at 16.3.
Even more concerning is that the Western Cape experienced the largest overall increase in reported r@pe cases for the quarter, with a jump of 35 cases from 1,002 to 1,037. Mpumalanga followed with 32 additional cases, and the Free State saw an increase of 17 cases.
Major-General Thulare Sekhukhune, who provided the detailed breakdown, noted that most r@pes occurred in the homes of the perpetrators. Out of a sample of 7,165 incidents, 4,265 took place in the perpetrator’s home, 1,766 happened in public spaces, and 91 occurred in educational institutions.
Of the 91 r@pes reported in educational facilities, 74 took place in schools. The highest numbers of school r@pes were reported in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Western Cape, with 17, 15, and 13 cases, respectively.
“We expect our children to be safe at school, but unfortunately, 91 r@pe incidents were reported at educational institutions, along with 12 cases of murd3r,” Minister Mchunu stated.
Beyond r@pe, other violent crimes against women and children have also risen. The number of women murd3red increased by 71 cases, a 7.9% rise compared to the same period last year. Attempted murd3rs of women rose by 16%, with 227 more cases reported, and assaults with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) went up by 885 cases, a 6.9% increase.
966 women were k!lled, up from 895 in the previous quarter. Attempted murd3r cases for women reached 1,644, and assaults GBH climbed to 13,757 from 12,872.
