South Africa: Protecting Women Requires Funding the Full Justice and Policing Chain

What the report says

In a Daily Maverick commentary distributed by AllAfrica, Mmusi Maimane argues that South Africa’s response to gender-based violence and femicide is being weakened by underfunding across the policing and justice chain. The piece says the country already has laws, strategies and institutions on paper, but lacks enough frontline capacity to protect women where they live, travel and work and to carry cases from first report through to justice.

The article points to the discovery of women’s bodies in Ekurhuleni as a reminder of the gap between policy and protection. It says families deserve answers and justice, and that the public should know whether police personnel and public money are being directed toward the communities facing the greatest danger. The commentary also stresses that visible policing is central to prevention and response.

To illustrate the scale of the challenge, the piece cites national crime and violence data, including SAPS murder figures for 2023/24 and research showing widespread lifetime exposure to physical violence among adult women. It argues that headcount ratios alone are misleading because they can hide vacancies, uneven deployment, administrative workloads and equipment shortages. In broader context, the argument reflects a continuing debate in South Africa about whether existing institutions are being funded and organized well enough to deliver real protection, especially for women at highest risk.