GOOD Statement by Brett Herron ,
GOOD Secretary-General
25 November 2024
As the country marks the start of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, the crime stats highlight the shocking state of violence experienced by our women and children.
On average, 10 women and 3 children are killed daily across South Africa.
In today’s presentation, it was widely celebrated that the national figure for contact crime decreased by 3%, during the 3 months of July to end September 2024.
And while murder saw a decrease of 5.8% nationally, the number of women and children murdered was up year on year.
Murders against women saw an 8.6% increase, with a 3.5% increase in attempted murder.
Children (boys and girls) saw a 7.5 % point increase in murders and a 35.7% increase in attempted murders.
The level of GBVF in South Africa is a consequence of a toxic cocktail of inherited gender prejudices and inequalities.
To address the scourge of GBVF in the country we first need to address the conditions that make crime prevalent in South Africa: poverty and inequality.
It is obvious that we need better policing, but we also need to address the socio-economic conditions that so many of our citizens face daily.
As South Africans, we all need to stand up and say “Zero Tolerance”.
Media enquiries: media@forgood.org.za