Violence against women: More cases are being reported to police

Over the past four years, the number of domestic violence incidents against women reported to police in South Africa has almost doubled, from 33,000 in 2020/23 to 63,000 in 2023/24.

It could be that violence has increased, or that more women are reporting cases to the police.

The South African Police Service defines domestic violence as “crime committed in a domestic relationship”. This includes when the perpetrator is a current or past spouse, life partner, boyfriend, fiancé, partner, or sexual partner.

Physical assault is by far the most common form of domestic violence. Other crimes include murders, attempted murders, rapes, sexual assaults, robberies, arson, damage to property, and burglaries.

Lisa Vetten, a researcher specialising in gender-based violence, told GroundUp that there are three possible reasons why reported domestic violence cases have increased:

1. Fewer cases were reported during the 2020/21 covid lockdowns. A 2022 HSRC report suggests that domestic violence may have decreased during the covid lockdown.
2. More women may be willing to open criminal cases for incidents that have previously been addressed in other ways, for example through family discussions or protection orders. Increased awareness of gender-based violence may have contributed to this.
3. There may be an actual increase in domestic violence. “The country’s poor economic situation, doubt about the future, fraying social bonds, weakened policing, the rise in organised crime and its knock-on effects might all be creating the conditions that support violence,” says Vetten.

The accuracy of SAPS statistics is also questionable. In response to a question in Parliament, the police minister said SAPS had decided to stop publishing crime stats disaggregated by age and sex after finding serious inaccuracies in past data.

Chart produced by The Outlier in partnership with GroundUp.

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