South Africa is known as the rape capital of the world, with increasing rates of rape and contact crimes. In the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, more women and children faced murder and sexual assault than in the same period last year. The rate of women killed by intimate partners is five times the global average. Gender-based violence (GBV) is deeply ingrained in the country's culture and occurs in various forms.

 

Most crimes happened in residences (12,472), public places (9,725), liquor outlets (3,445), spaza shops (467), and educational institutions (259). Murders of women increased by 7.9% to 966, while attempted murders rose by 16% to 1,644. Similarly, child murders grew by 7.2% to 314.

 

Though overall sexual offenses decreased by 0.4% to 11,566, rapes rose by 0.6% to 9,309, with Gauteng (1,921), KwaZulu-Natal (1,895), the Eastern Cape (1,466), and Western Cape (1,037) reporting the highest numbers. Educational facilities reported 91 rapes and 12 murders.