Speeches

Speech by the Hon Andries Nel, MP, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development in a Debate on Urgent Matter of National Public Importance on "The scourge of violence against women in South Africa against the backdrop of the recent killing of women in Ekurhuleni and the urgent need for government" on 29 September 2026

House Chairperson,
Honourable Members,

Gender-based violence and femicide is an assault on our constitutional democracy.

The preamble to our Constitution affirms the dignity of every person. It commits us to build a society based on democratic values, social justice, and fundamental human rights, a society in which every person is equally protected by law. It declares that we seek to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person.

When a woman is murdered by her intimate partner, when a woman is raped and the perpetrator walks free, and when a woman lives in fear in her own home, these promises are broken.

GBV+F is an assault against both women as well as the very idea of the South Africa that so many fought and died for.

We convey our condolences to the families who have lost daughters, sisters, mothers and friends to this terrible brutality.

We thank the residents of Ekurhuleni and Soweto and elsewhere who have assisted the police with information.

My Parliamentary Constituency Office is in Mitchells Plain. Every day the people of the Cape Flats experience the impact of violent crime, gangsterism and gender-based violence and femicide.

We are a society under siege from within. The recent mass shootings in Gauteng and the Western Cape, which claimed dozens of lives, are a stark reminder that we face a broader crisis of violent crime that disproportionately affects women and girls.

On 24 November 2025, gender-based violence and femicide was classified as a national disaster. This was not a symbolic gesture. It was a recognition that the scale, the brutality, and the geographic spread of GBV+F is a problem for the entire state – national, provincial and local.

This classification means that the National Executive now carries the primary responsibility for coordinating and managing the response. It means that all organs of state are called upon to strengthen their support to existing structures.

It elevates GBV+F to the highest level of national priority, and it gives us the tools to hold every department accountable for their contribution to ending this scourge.

Since the classification Government has strengthened coordination through NATJOINTS and provincial structures, improved survivor support, expanded specialised court services, strengthened the service and monitoring of protection orders, and improved the way GBVF cases are tracked across SAPS, the NPA and the courts.

The SAPS has established a GBV+F Information Centre at the SAPS Academy to track incidents. This is not about collecting data for its own sake.

It should help us see where a case is stalled, whether a suspect has been arrested, whether a docket has reached the prosecutor, why a case has been postponed, and what support has been provided to the survivor.

The joint cooperation between SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority has been strengthened. This has resulted in improved case management, faster evidence processing, and a more coordinated approach to investigations. The establishment of a specialised multi-disciplinary team to investigate the murders in Ekurhuleni is a direct result of this improved cooperation.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, the Domestic Violence Amendment Act, and the Criminal and Related Matters Amendment Act have all been operationalised. These laws have expanded the definition of domestic violence, tightened bail provisions for GBV perpetrators, introduced additional sex crimes, and broadened the scope of the National Register for Sex Offenders.

Concretely, this means that:

• A police officer may no longer release an accused person on bail if that person is charged with violating a domestic violence protection order.

• There is no police bail for persons accused of femicide, domestic homicide, or rape in a domestic relationship.

• Courts must consider the safety of the victim before granting bail, including any threats made by the accused.

• The definition of domestic violence now includes coercive behaviour, controlling behaviour, economic abuse, and the exposure of children to domestic violence.

• The National Register for Sex Offenders now protects not just children and persons with mental disabilities, but also vulnerable persons such as women under 25 in tertiary institutions, older persons in care facilities, and persons with disabilities. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is working on legislative amendments to ensure greater public access to the National Register.

However, laws do not implement themselves. They must be implemented by the state working with the people.

• In the first two quarters of this financial year, 99.6 percent of domestic-violence protection orders served by clerks of the court were served within 24 hours of receipt.

• Forty domestic-violence courts were upgraded in 2025/26 and a further 44 district courts are being upgraded this year.

• Thirty-five compliant sexual-offences courts had been established by the end of 2025/26, with more being developed.

The National Prosecuting Authority, is at the frontline of our fight against GBV+F.

• In the 2025/26 financial year, the NPA achieved an overall performance rate of 88 percent against its set targets – it's highest to date.

• This demonstrates that despite the enormity of the challenge, the NPA is delivering results, including in the fight against GBV+F.

• The conviction rate in sexual offences matters was 74 percent, with 3,794 convictions secured from 5,141 cases finalised.

• This is significant progress, but we know it is not enough. We must do better.

• The Thuthuzela Care Centres recorded a conviction rate of 79.2 percent.

• Of these, life imprisonment sentences increased by 23 percent, from 293 to 360.

• Long-term sentences increased by 9 percent, from 958 to 1,040.

• In total, 1,400 severe custodial outcomes were achieved for GBV perpetrators.

• These are not just numbers, these are perpetrators removed from society, and survivors who received justice.

• The TCCs assisted 46,301 victims. Two new TCCs were established in Rietvlei, KwaZulu-Natal, and Flagstaff, Eastern Cape, bringing justice closer to rural communities.

• The NPA has introduced compulsory GBV training for 800 prosecutors, from entry level.

• It has introduced compulsory vetting of all NPA officials against the National Sex Offender Register and the Child Protection Register. One hundred and ninety-four names have been submitted for vetting.

• The NPA has prioritised the investigation and prosecution of serial rapists through the Serial Rapists Initiative.

• It has prioritised the prosecution of child pregnancy cases caused by criminal conduct.

• Through the DNA Initiative, 5,155 DNA reports were received, leading to an overall reduction in withdrawals.

• The NPA has secured education bursaries for victims of GBV, to the value of R45,000 per victim, through public-private partnerships.

However, we must be honest and not claim easy victories.

• A conviction rate of 74 percent in sexual offences means that more than one in four cases do not result in conviction.

• Equally concerning is the fact that 1,658 sexual-offence charges were withdrawn in the first quarter of 2026/27 and 563 sexual-offence cases that had been in the system for 24 months or longer.

There are challenges of implementation, of resourcing, and of accountability across the criminal justice system. And they are exactly what the national disaster classification is designed to address.

On an issue as serious as GBVF, accountability should lead to common action not a competition over which political party cares more about women.

It is unfortunate that some parties are prone to hunting with the hounds and running with the hares. They are happy to exercise power in the Government of National Unity and loudly claim the victories that they aggregate to themselves, but they undergo a sudden political trans-substantiation into opposition parties when that same Government is confronted with difficult issues that they should share in taking responsibility for and solving.

We reject calls made for the reintroduction of the death penalty. These calls are opportunistic and populist, meant to sound appealing, but lacking any evidence of their effectiveness. They are the proverbial sound and fury signifying nothing.

We are the first to admit that Government must do more, but Government cannot end GBVF on its own. We need the religious communities, civil society movements, the traditional leaders, and every single South African to act. We need men to stop being silent. We need fathers to teach their sons that respect is not weakness. We need communities to stop protecting perpetrators and start reporting them. We need the entertainment industry, the religious sector, and cultural leaders to reject the toxic norms that enable violence.

I thank you.