South Africa has seen slight decreases in overall violent crime, but gender-based violence continues to take a devastating toll, civil society warns.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia released the quarterly crime statistics for 1 October to 31 December 2025 on Friday, noting reductions in murder, robbery, and other violent offences.
“Most violent crime categories, including murder, rape, and robbery, have started to decrease, but they remain at unacceptably high levels,” Cachalia said.
He added that the classification of gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster requires urgent action.
“Much interpersonal, domestic, and gender-based violence takes place between people who live together or know each other,” he said.
Civil society group Action Society warned that the statistics do not reflect the full scale of the problem.
“We are told how many murders were reported and how many rape cases were opened, but we are not told how many resulted in convictions,” said Juanita du Preez.
Du Preez added that without conviction statistics, the public is denied a complete picture.
During the quarter, South Africa recorded 11,430 rapes, 50,253 assaults, and 7,858 attempted murders.
“Criminals are deterred by consequences. The certainty that violent crimes will be investigated, prosecuted efficiently, and result in convictions is what restores order,” Du Preez said.
Action Society called on the Police Ministry and the Department of Justice to urgently release conviction data, along with validated statistics on crimes against women and children.
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