The Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, says urgent action is needed to tackle South Africa’s GBVF crisis.
At least 7.3 million South African women aged 18 and older have experienced physical violence during their lifetime, according to the Human Sciences Research Council’s first national Gender-Based Violence and Femicide prevalence study.
The figures were revealed by the Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, on Monday as the newly established National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide held its inaugural meeting in Pretoria.
According to Chikunga, 30 736 of the 50 511 cases recorded by the South African Police Service during the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year resulted in arrests or referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The figures underscore the scale of the crisis confronting the newly operationalised council, which has been established to co-ordinate and strengthen the country’s response to GBVF.
