While we expect that President Cyril Ramaphosa will focus his annual State of the Nation Address on the state of the political climate in the country, he should be focusing on his administration’s overall failure in his primary job – keeping the vulnerable in our society safe. The country should see the president address the deeply entrenched culture of violence against women and children that grows worse with each passing month at an alarming rate.
South Africa is one of the most dangerous places for women to live in, and the numbers speak for themselves: According to police statistics from the Second Quarter of 2024/2025, 10 191 rapes were recorded, with 113 women being raped per day (almost five per hour). During the same period, a total of 957 women were murdered – 11 per day. Assault GBH against women increased to 14 366 – 160 per day.
“It is time that the president faces the fact that women and children are living in warzones where they are failed in their relationships when they are abused. They are failed by the police when cases of assault aren’t prioritised and victims are shown the door to get protection orders on their own. They are failed by the police and the justice system when those protection orders are violated – for many, at the cost of their lives. Their families are then left to face a broken justice system where insufficient investigations by police officers on the one hand and a shortage of functioning courts, magistrates and prosecutors on the other, lead to years of delays in court”, explains Juanita du Preez, spokesperson for Action Society.
A country cannot function if its citizens are not kept safe. In recent years, the South African Police Service (SAPS) have been complicit in the downward spiral of this country into a state of chaos where criminals are allowed to do what they wish. Trust in police is at an all time low with most South Africans saying they would not stop for a police officer and would rather rely on private security to keep them safe – something the majority of ordinary South Africans can ill afford. We want to see our president address issues of corruption in our police force and then implement immediate resources to aid the police in keeping South Africans safe.
Furthermore, when criminals are actually caught, the likelihood of them being prosecuted is very low in our decaying judicial system. Not only do our courts fail victims, it creates more of them with a broken parole and bail system that needs to be addressed with immediate action. The Action Society team is on the front lines everyday with cases of violence against women and children, and we see cases being dragged out for years with very little progress made. We need more courts and more prosecutors if we want to see justice prevail.
“Things need to change drastically and immediately if we want to save our country, things simply cannot be allowed to go on the way they are. Everyday we see our society slipping further and further into lawlessness. There seems to be no safe haven for women and children and this needs to change. A country has no future if its children cannot grow and prosper into functioning adults safely. We demand change and we demand it now,” du Preez concludes.
