CAPE TOWN - A total R1.6 billion has been allocated to activities aimed at combating Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), with an additional R50 million to provincial baselines.
This was heard when the Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, tabled the 2026/27 Budget Vote for the Ministry of Police on Tuesday.
Cachalia said policing alone can not solve crime, which he says is driven by deep social and economic challenges.
It is such challenges that require a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response, he added.
“Government remains firmly committed to tackling Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.”
Between October and December 2025, a total of 14,547 sexual offences were reported.
That is 426 fewer than the same period the previous year. Most cases were rapes, totaling to 11,430 cases.
KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of sexual offences at 2,842, followed by Gauteng with 2,719, Eastern Cape with 2,314, and Western Cape with 2,014. The
Northern Cape had the lowest, with 432 cases.
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The statistics also showed how sexual offences happen in spaces meant to be safe.
Over 5,500 incidents took place in the homes of victims or perpetrators, including family, friends, or neighbours.
While public spaces such as streets, parks, parking lots, and abandoned buildings accounted for 1,826 cases.
Schools were also not spared.
In a previous report by eNCA, a civil rights group warned that the country's latest crime statistics do not tell the full story.
At the time, Action Society said that while numbers are important, South Africa remains in the grip of a national crisis.
Cachalia said the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy remains central to their approach.
He said it includes efforts to strengthen families, safer schools, youth development, substance abuse prevention, better urban planning, stronger community partnerships and intergovernmental cooperation.