Calls for urgent measures against gender-based violence in the Western Cape
Behind every statistic lies a story of trauma and resilience; it's time for decisive action against gender-based violence.
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Gender-based Violence (GBV) organisation said prosecution and conviction rates in cases remain concerningly low while thousands nationally are withdrawn annually due to weak investigations, insufficient evidence and witness attrition.
They were responding to Wendy Kaizer-Philander MPP, DA Western Cape Spokesperson who expressed concern at the latest crime statistics for the period October 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025, which revealed that 2,014 sexual offences were recorded in the Western Cape. Kaizer-Philander said this equates to 22 sexual offences every single day. Of these, 1,370 were rape cases, which is an average of 15 rapes per day in one province alone.
“Behind every case is a woman, a child, or an individual whose life has been permanently altered by violence,” she remarked. “These numbers represent trauma, fear, broken trust and shattered dignity. The scale of sexual violence in our communities demands urgent, decisive and coordinated action.
"We cannot normalise 22 sexual offences a day. We cannot accept 15 rapes a day as inevitable. The time for incremental responses has passed. South Africans deserve a government that acts with urgency, competence and compassion.”
She went on to state that the Standing Committee on Social Development in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament will invite the South African Police Service, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, the Commissioner for Children, the Western Cape Education Department, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) to appear before the committee.
This will provide a comprehensive account of their policies, prevention strategies, and awareness programmes relating to GBV, including existing GBV prevention and awareness programmes across schools, higher education institutions, and communities.
Victim support services and referral systems. Interdepartmental coordination and information-sharing mechanisms, she stated. This includes budget allocations and measurable outcomes linked to GBV interventions. Gaps in implementation and barriers to effective service delivery.
Siya Monakali of Ilitha Labantu said during this reporting period, Delft, Nyanga, Harare, Mfuleni and Gugulethu recorded some of the highest rape figures nationally. “Mfuleni and Nyanga ranked first and second in the country for murder. Delft, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Philippi East, Mitchells Plain, Harare and Manenberg continue to feature prominently across major crime categories,” he stated.
“The repeated overrepresentation of Cape Flats communities in national crime rankings reflects entrenched spatial inequality and longstanding socio-economic exclusion. Year after year, the same communities carry a disproportionate burden of violence, raising serious concerns about the adequacy, alignment and implementation of current safety and social development interventions.”
He cited that prosecution and conviction rates in GBV-related cases remain concerningly low. Thousands of cases nationally are withdrawn annually due to weak investigations, insufficient evidence and witness attrition.