Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Bongi Sithole Moloi said KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has the highest statistics for gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and rape in the country. Ms Moloi revealed this at the South African Legislative Sector (SALS) Forum Summit in Ballito this week.
She stressed, however, that government would not back down in the fight against GBVF and would not allow criminals to do as they will.
The summit, attended by GBVF activists and lawmakers, aimed to evaluate the progress made by politicians in stopping GBVF in the country. It ends on Friday August 4 by which time it hopes to have established a long-term vision and a defined role for Sals in the gender transformation landscape.
Feedback from the summit will be included in the 30-Year Report on Gender Transformation and Mainstreaming in the South African Legislative Sector.
“KZN continues to have high number GBVF cases. SAPS statistics showed that in the period of April to June 2022, KZN had 201 murders reported. Fifty-three percent of those murdered were female and 71% of the total grievous bodily harm cases were committed on women and girls,” said Ms Moloi.
“A total of 641 women and 32 men and boys were raped during this time. Ninety-seven percent of the 124 sexual assault cases were carried out on women. KZN had the highest number of rapes – with 1462 cases reported in the province, of the total of 5877 cases throughout the country.”
She added that, 64% of the cases of rape were committed in the victims’ homes.
Ms Moloi said the government is committed to ending the violence and ensuring that perpetrators are prosecuted and that the state is responsible for ensuring the safety and protection of the victims and the prosecution of offenders.
