South Africans continue to face violent crimes daily with 70 people killed and over a hundred rapes reported daily. Presenting crime statistics for the period between July and September, police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that 6,945 South Africans were murdered in three months. That’s more than 70 people murdered daily. Also in the third quarter of 2023, Cele said 10 516 people mostly women and girl children were sexual assault while 42 297 others were seriously assaulted.

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 

South Africa is the sixth country in the world with the highest rape rate with 13 090 rape cases reported in the second quarter of 2023. In the same period, more than  800 women were reported killed while 293 children were murdered in three months. The rate at which women are killed by their intimate partners in this country is five times higher than the global average. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, at a summit on gender-based violence, said murders of women have increased by 50% this year and called for action to stop the trend. "It is a story of a nation that is seemingly at war with itself, a nation that is at war with the women of this country and the children of this country," Ramaphosa said. National police reported 1,753 women were murdered in just the first half of this year. The South African Police Services’ latest crime stats revealed that women of this country continue to be stalked by violence, mainly at the hands of men they know. A double-digit percentage increase of 21.5% was recorded in attempted murder figures for the 4th Quarter. This means there were 1,485 attempted murders of women in South Africa in the first three months of this year. 969 women were killed in the same period and over 15 000 women were assaulted and the SAPS are investigating assault GBH cases.

MURDER

KZN has been dubbed the murder capital with it ranking the highest of incidents of killings throughout the year. The province has also recorded its highest number of multiple murder cases followed by the Eastern Cape with 206 and 155 victims respectively. The latest incident happened on the 12th of November when SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said they had launched a manhunt for suspects linked to the shooting. He said five of the victims, aged between 24 and 38, were found dead, while a 32-year-old was rushed to hospital, all with gunshot wounds. ?When police arrived at the first house, the bodies of a 32-year-old man and a woman who was yet to be identified and believed to be in her early 30s were found with multiple gunshot wounds and were certified dead at the scene. At the second house, police found two bodies of women aged 30 and 38, as well as the body of a 24-year-old man. All three bodies had multiple gunshot wounds and were also pronounced dead. Another 32-year-old man was also shot at his house but survived with multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital," said Netshiunda. This incident follows a spade of mass killings in the province which have left many living in fear. The latest crime stats indicate that more than 6000 were killed with either a firearm, knife, sharp and blunt instruments, stone or even bare hands in three months. The motives for the murder range from arguments, GBV, vigilantism and robberies topping the motive list for murder.

RAPE 

Almost 53,900 South Africans reported being a victim of a sexual crime. Of those, around 80 percent registered being raped, while close to 7,600 South Africans disclosed being sexually assaulted. These incidents include victims of both genders and many of them know who their perpetrators are. The latest incident is of a woman who was allegedly raped by her boyfriend because she refused to give him more money for beer. She was visiting her lover in Mariveni village, outside Tzaneen, in Limpopo when he asked for money for beer. The 27-year-old woman could only afford to give her boyfriend R75, but this made him angry. Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said when the boyfriend could not get more out of his girlfriend for alcohol, he allegedly forced himself on her and raped her. "He ordered her to wash herself but the victim managed to run to the neighbour’s house to seek assistance. It is reported that the victim was rushed to the nearby hospital for medical assistance as a result of the assault," Mashaba said.