File: A sign left as a protest against gender violence at the scene of a rape and murder. GettyImages/RapidEye
JOHANNESBURG - As the country grapples with high levels of sexual violence, a civil rights group warns that the countries latest crime statistics do not tell a full story.
Action Society says the government continues to present statistics that measure incidents, but not justice.
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.
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KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of sexual offences at 2,842, followed by Gauteng with 2,719, Eastern Cape at 2,314, and Western Cape at 2,014.
Northern Cape had the lowest, with 432 cases.
Action Society spokesperson Juanita du Preez points to a criminal justice system that often fails survivors.
This, she said, includes corruption and operational weaknesses in police investigations, forensic backlogs, particularly in DNA analysis, and overloaded courts mean that many cases never reach a proper conclusion.
“When cases collapse, when dockets go missing, when forensic reports are delayed and when matters are postponed repeatedly, the perceived risk of committing violent crime decreases. In such an environment, deterrence erodes and public confidence declines,” Du Preez said.
The statistics also showed how sexual offences happens 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 not spared.
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A total of 52 rapes were reported at schools, nine at daycare centres, and seven at tertiary institutions.
Police also recorded 106 rapes linked to alcohol and drug related offences.
Action Society said while numbers are important, South Africa remains in the grip of a national crisis.
“No national disaster has received less sustained urgency or statistical clarity than the violence inflicted daily on women and children,” the group said.
The organisation is now calling on ministry of police and the department of justice to publish quarterly conviction rates for murder, rape, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and crimes against children.