South Africa’s ‘femicide’ emergency deepens - report

According to data cited by a University of Cape Town professor, three women have been killed by an intimate partner per day since 2009

Inadequate resources and the poor implementation of laws that are supposed to protect women are hampering the efforts against the scourge of femicide and intimate partner violence (IPV). 

IPV has been thrust into focus again this week as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that the attempted murder case against Edwin Sodi has been struck from the Randburg Magistrate’s Court’s roll. 

This also comes days after Cape Town convicted murderer, Wayne Lawrence, was sentenced to a cumulative 71 years behind bars for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Angela, and the attempted murder of their daughter, who was shot in the foot during a domestic dispute. 

Lawrence was a licensed firearm holder who, at the time of the incident, owned two firearms. 

Controversial businessman Sodi faced attempted murder and assault charges but these were withdrawn by his estranged wife, Nthateng Lerata.

It was alleged that during a life-threatening confrontation, Sodi attempted to shoot Lerata, but his gun jammed. 

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NPA spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, said they rejected Lerata’s withdrawal statement due to the widespread scourge of gender-based violence (GBV).

However, due to them both not being present at court on the day, the matter was struck from the roll.

University of Cape Town (UCT) chief specialist scientist at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Professor Naeemah Abrahams, said data reflected that since 2009, three women have been killed by an intimate partner, per day. 

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“This is a very sad indication of the failure of our Firearms Control Act and our Domestic Violence Act that very clearly specify that an abuser should not be issued a licence and that guns should be removed. Gun-related femicide has increased in the last few years. This is due to the poor implementation of laws that are supposed to protect women.

”Our national study shows more than 1/3 of women are killed with a gun... we know that IPV and femicide are preventable and we have evidence on what works. But it needs adequate resources,” said Abrahams. 

According to a recent research brief on femicide in South Africa by the SAMRC, the data showed findings of the 4th national femicide study, which coincided with the first year of Covid-19.

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”In terms of convictions of femicide cases, the brief found that convictions decreased with the lowest levels reported during 2020/21. Less than one in five of the intimate partner femicide cases ended with a conviction. If we consider the increased number of cases with unidentified perpetrators, it is evident that the chances of a murdered woman receiving justice in 2020/21 significantly decreased. 

“We found a mixed picture in the police and criminal justice system’s response to femicide with improvement in the number of cases located in the police information system in 2020/21 compared to 2017. However, in 2020/21, in 44.5% of cases, a perpetrator was not identified... This points to substantially poorer performance than in 2017 when the proportion (30%) was already very high. This points to a lack of efforts to investigate such murders,” the brief noted.

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SAMRC said: “The unabated increase in firearm-related femicide over the 10 years since 2009 is an indication that firearm control has been lost in the country and reflects the deterioration in policing and lack of response to the calls for effective implementation of the Firearms Control Act. Our research over two decades shows an appalling decline in police investigations with the non-identification of perpetrators from 1999 to 2020/21 more than doubled (from 19% to 44%). 

“This remains a huge concern and improved police responses are needed to ensure justice for all who are murdered. These are key objectives of the Integrated National Femicide Prevention Strategy which was developed in 2022 and is still awaiting approval by Cabinet.”

In May 2023, Sodi made headlines after 15 people lost their lives and over 50 were hospitalised following a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, Pretoria.

Sodi’s company was awarded a R295 million tender to handle the long-standing water crisis in the area, however, the project was left incomplete.

First published by IOL