By Hajira Khota                                                                                                                                                               22.11.21

According to Police Minister Bheki Cele’s recent quarterly crime figures, citizens, particularly women and children, continue to bear the brunt of violence.

Cele indicated that the months of July, August, and September 2020 are dangerous for thousands of women across the country during his presentation of quarterly crime figures. According to Cele, there were 5,876 killings in the country during this time. 1,334 occurred in the victims’ houses, while 2,424 occurred in public locations and 444 occurred in pubs, nightclubs, and taverns. On farms, plots, and smallholdings, fifteen persons were murdered.

He says that the statistics reveal that South Africa is an extremely violent country, citing high rates of murder, assault, rape, and robbery.

Crime expert, Dr Guy Lamb spoke to Radio Islam International; he says that there a number of risk factors in which a child is killed due to tensions in the home and violent communities in which they live.

“In South Africa we have always had a problem with child murders in the country compared to other countries”.

Institute for Security Studies (ISS) head of governance Gareth Newham says that women and children in South Africa lived in constant fear on a daily basis.

According to the World Health Organisation, 12.1 out of every 100 000 women in South Africa are victims of femicide each year, which is five times more than the global average of 2.6.

Cele said it was encouraging that rape victims and survivors had access to rape kits since police had kept all police stations stocked and gender-based violence desks were being implemented. So far, 134 have been put into service, with the intention of having one at each station.

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