Gendered power inequality, and pervasive harmful patriarchal social norms, attitudes and beliefs continue to be factors which drive and enable the high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in this country, Amnesty International South Africa said today.
“Today marks the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against GBV. It is deeply troubling that, in a country where women remain unsafe, some still hold the belief that there are circumstances under which a woman deserves to be beaten or punished,” said Shenilla Mohamed, Executive Director of Amnesty International South Africa.
“Such attitudes are alarming in a nation where approximately 15 women are murdered daily, 172 are assaulted, and an average of 116 rapes are reported each day.”
The release of the first national GBV prevalence study, conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council shows that almost 36% of women reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetime. This translates to an estimated 7,847,438 women.
It was worrying to see that 10.7% of men surveyed believed that a woman should tolerate violence in order to keep her family together, and 8.3% of men believed that there are times when a woman deserves to be beaten. The majority of men, at 69.5%, believed that a woman should obey her husband, while 9.1% of women agreed with the statement that if a wife does something wrong, her husband has the right to punish her.
“It is clear that the high rates of GBV in South Africa are perpetuated by a culture of silence and ‘acceptance’. We need more people reporting crimes of GBV and calling out the toxic social and cultural norms that exist at every level of society,” Shenilla Mohamed said.
“There needs to be consequences for those who perpetuate violence. This is where the broken criminal justice system has failed victims of GBV. It is because of this failing system, and more importantly the shoddy investigative work and lack of implementation of legislation, that there is little deterrent for perpetrators.”
According to the SA Police Service’s 2023/24 annual crime statistics, there were 42,569 reported cases of rape. While this is a 0.5% decrease from the previous financial year, this still equates to just over 116 cases of rape a day. Additionally, there were 7,418 cases of sexual assault. This is down 0.9% from the previous year. While there was a slight decrease in cases of reported rape and sexual assault, the numbers are still too high and this does not necessarily mean that there was less rape and sexual assault.
We continue to see failures by the SAPS, as evident in the cases of Popi Qwabe and Bongeka Phungula. Since 2020 Amnesty International South Africa has been campaigning for justice for these two young women who were brutally murdered seven years ago. Since their murders, their families have received little to no communication on the status of the case, leaving them in the dark with no hope of justice being served.
Last year, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi wrote to Amnesty International South Africa informing us that although the Director for Public Prosecutions in Gauteng had decided that there was insufficient evidence at this stage to proceed with prosecution, the decision had been taken to refer the matter to an inquest. The matter was referred to the Protea Magistrate’s Court for the inquest, but since then there has been no indication of when the inquest will start despite our regular follow ups.
“While society needs to do its part in fighting against toxic norms, attitudes, and gender-power relations, the state also needs to play its part. The police and the state continue to fail all who live in South Africa by not acting with the urgency and seriousness this requires. This failure to do more is violating people’s rights to safety, life and dignity,” Shenilla Mohamed said.
“Enough is enough! More action is needed, and it is needed now.”
Background
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that began in 1991 and runs every year between 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and 10 December (Human Rights Day).
Join thousands of people who have signed the pledge to interrupt and end gender-based violence in South Africa now.
For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Genevieve Quintal, Media and Communications Officer, Amnesty International South Africa: +27 (0)64 890 9224; genevieve.quintal@amnesty.org.za
