Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay
Although we may be celebrating Women’s Day weekend, the threat of sexual assault remains prevalent in South Africa. Rape and gender-based violence have long been a scar on the face of this country, seriously undermining efforts to imbue an equal and fair society.
On Sunday, a request for information submitted by the DA to the National Police Commissioner was finally provided. It made grim reading for many South African police stations, which are wholly unequipped to deal with cases of rape. The issue is also set for further investigation on Carte Blanche on Sunday evening.
The data provided, and subsequently made public this weekend, shows that many of these venues don’t have “rape kits” in stock. This is the term given to the equipment used to forensically collect evidence from victims, in order to analyse the results and hunt down the criminal(s).
Who are the worst offenders?
Free State comes off particularly bad from the research, too. Only 10% of police stations in the province have the necessary tools to collect evidence from an adult rape victim, and shockingly, just 2.7% of their stations have the kit required to gather forensic data from child victims.
Andrew Whitfield is the DA Shadow Minister of Police. It was his line of inquiry that turfed-up these alarming figures. He confirmed that the party had given Police Minister Bheki Cele 90 days to provide an adequate amount of rape kits across the country, or be held personally responsible for SAPS’ “failure to investigate rape”:
“Without these kits, evidence in reported rape cases cannot be collected, and, without evidence, the ability to successfully prosecute rapists diminishes drastically. The shortage of these kits is a crisis of national importance, which needs to be resolved as a matter of great urgency.”
“It is wholly unacceptable and a damning indictment on the South African Police Service (SAPS) that only a handful of police stations are equipped to successfully gather evidence from victims of rape.”
Andrew Whitfield
Adult rape kits available in South Africa
| Province | Adult rape kits needed | Adult rape kits available | Percentage of stations without a rape kit |
| Eastern Cape | 10 000 | 1 457 | 85.4% |
| Free State | 3 621 | 340 | 90.7% |
| Gauteng | 22 555 | 3 965 | 82.5% |
| KZN | 12 767 | 5 368 | 58% |
| Limpopo | 3 000 | 1 494 | 51% |
| Mpumalanga | 3 700 | 2 867 | 22.6% |
| North West | 3 500 | 883 | 74.8% |
| Northern Cape | 2 467 | 784 | 68.3% |
| Western Cape | 5 207 | 1 083 | 79.2% |
| TOTAL | 68 542 | 18 241 | 73 – 76% |
- Around three in four stations in South Africa “do not have adult rape kits”
- Mpumalanga is the best performer, as 78% of its stations have the right tools.
- Behind Free State, the Eastern Cape is the next-worst performer. Less than one in seven stations have rape kits.
Child rape kits available in South Africa
| Province | Child rape kits needed | Child rape kits available | Percentage of stations without a rape kit |
| Eastern Cape | 10 000 | 2 642 | 73.% |
| Free State | 12 516 | 340 | 97.3% |
| Gauteng | 11 200 | 3 965 | 64.4% |
| KZN | 8 924 | 6 696 | 25% |
| Limpopo | 4 000 | 5 805 | Stations well-equipped |
| Mpumalanga | 2 615 | 5 317 | Stations well-equipped |
| North West | 3 000 | 1 383 | 54% |
| Northern Cape | 1 952 | 432 | 77.9% |
| Western Cape | 4 584 | 729 | 84.1% |
| TOTAL | 59 506 | 25 464 | 58 – 70% |
- Approximately two-thirds of stations in South Africa do not have adequate facilities for child rape cases.
- Mpumalanga and Limpopo actually have a surplus of these kits.
- This time, the Western Cape is in the bottom two with Free State. Just 16% of the province’s stations have the child-centric equipment.
