There is growing concern over the increasing number of women implicated in serious crimes across South Africa—a troubling trend that includes child abuse, neglect, kidnapping, and even murder. A recent spate of high-profile cases has shocked the nation and prompted urgent calls for introspection and intervention.
While women have historically been viewed as caregivers or supporters, recent incidents suggest a shift in this dynamic.
Speaking to VOC News, crime expert and Senior Training Coordinator at the Institute for Security Studies, Willem Els, highlighted an alarming development in criminal patterns involving women.
“Traditionally, your females and your women normally played a supporting role—logistics, couriers, and so on. But now, especially in recent weeks and months, we’ve seen a surge where women were actually the perpetrators,” Els explained.
Listen to the full interview with Els below:
This shift has raised serious questions about what is driving women to commit such crimes. Experts suggest that it’s not simply a matter of criminality, but rather the result of a deeper social crisis.
Nuraan Osman, Director of the Ihata Shelter for Abused Women and Children in Cape Town, stressed the need to understand the root causes. She points to a combination of poverty, family breakdown, mental health challenges, and social isolation as contributing factors.
“It speaks to such a broad problem,” said Osman.
“Where I work on the Cape Flats, very few families are intact. There’s a lot of social isolation, a lot of stigma. Mental health issues are rife, and families have little or no idea how to resolve conflict. Screaming, swearing, and fighting—that’s the order of the day. It’s almost normal to swear at your children.”
Osman revealed that even some women seeking refuge at the shelter have themselves perpetrated violence against their children.
“I’ve seen mothers who bite or pinch their children. That’s why we have strict policies at the shelter on how children are to be treated and corrected,” she said.
“Children who are not shown empathy grow up unable to show empathy themselves.”
Listen to the full interview with Osman below:
VOC News
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