The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently called for an end to violence against children and women in South Africa.

Development Diaries reports that the latest crime statistics released by the South African Police Service (SAPS) revealed that more than three children and 12 women were murdered daily in South Africa over a 90-day period, between October and December 2022.

It also revealed that another 21,434 children and women suffered attempted murder or grievous bodily harm.

According to Cesvi, South Africa is the country with the highest number of cases of violence against women in the world – on average, every six hours.

A report by BMC Public Health further shows that one in three children in South Africa have been victims of sexual violence and physical abuse before they reach age 18, 12 percent experienced neglect, and 16 percent reported emotional abuse.

‘We speak out as a United Nations agency with a child rights advocacy mandate, and we will keep doing so because such high levels of violence against children and women should never be accepted as a norm in society’, UNICEF South Africa Representative, Christine Muhigana, said in a statement.

‘It’s easy to lose hope looking at the statistics but prevention and early intervention programmes do work. We must learn from their real and everyday examples – this is where hope resides’.

Data from the SAPS is alarming, suggesting a gap in South Africa’s enforcement of its existing gender-based violence laws.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, in 2022, signed the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Bill, the Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Bill, and the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill into law.

The laws are meant to protect women and children and ensure that survivors have a better chance of receiving justice.

Development Diaries, therefore, calls on the authorities in South Africa to scale up their efforts in arresting and prosecuting offenders.

Photo source: Ben Barber, USAID