By Thapelo Molefe
South Africa’s battle against gender-based violence (GBV) is far from turning a corner, with SAPS recording a slight increase in rape cases during the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
Although the rise is statistically modest, Police Minister Professor Firoz Kachalia said that sexual offences remain “stubbornly high”, despite encouraging drops in other violent-crime categories.
The latest data shows 22 more sexual-offence cases than the same period last year, bringing the total to 12,787. Within this category, rape cases decreased by 37, but SAPS recorded increases in attempted sexual offences (up by 50) and contact sexual offences (up by 31), factors which pushed the overall total upward.
Four provinces registered increases in rape reports: the Eastern Cape (+109), Mpumalanga (+59), Limpopo (+49) and the Northern Cape (+22).
The Eastern Cape now carries the highest rape rate in the country at 23–24 per 100,000 people. Gauteng recorded
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