South Africa consistently reports one of the highest rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in the world. From 2019 to 2020, reports of sexual violence increased by an average of 146 attacks a day, of which 116 were rape, totalling 42,289 rapes in those two years, according to police data. The overall trend has been increasing since 2017, police say.
In January 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed gender-based violence with three new laws, yet between July and September 2022, 9,556 cases of rape were reported to police; activists say the true number may be even higher.
Last July, the gang rape and robbery of eight women shooting a video at an abandoned mine in West Village, Krugersdorp, also caught national attention.
Who is helping?
- The Kwanele! Enuf Is Enuf! Initiative was founded by Andy Kawa after she was gang raped in 2010 and failed by the justice system. Her organisation aims to educate South Africans about rape prevention and about the impact the crime can have on survivors, as well as break the culture of silence and stigma.
- Rise Up Against Gender Based Violence focuses on those vulnerable to predators, namely unhoused and adolescent girls. It runs blanket drives and provides other basic needs like warm meals and counseling. It offers education for girls and boys about "consent, healthy relationships, early signs of violent behaviour, response, ending dependency as a driver and changing patriarchal social norms and stereotypes."
- Justice Desk Africa is a youth-led, youth-run organisation founded in 2013 that aims to build a network of everyday activists and heroes. Inspired by the K-pop group BTS, one of the NGO's projects is the Mbokodo Club, which helps girls who are rape survivors.