Sexual offences up by 4.6%, increase in murder and rape of children

Sexual offences have increased by 4.6% to 52,420 cases recorded in the 2018/19 reporting period, up from the 50,108 cases recorded the previous year.

Gauteng, which had the most recorded cases, saw a 6.3% hike, as did KZN.

However, the provinces with the highest percentage increases in sexual offences were Mpumalanga, with an 8.5% rise (from 3,198 to 3,470 cases), and the Eastern Cape, with a 7.9% spike, reflecting a rise in the number of cases from 8,094 to 8,731.

Rape also increased, by 3.9%, from 40,035 cases in 2017/18 to 41,583 in 2018/19.

In Gauteng, 6,743 women opened rape cases, followed by 5,895 in KwaZulu-Natal and 5,986 in the Eastern Cape. Women between the ages of 20 and 29 opened the most rape cases.

Girls aged between 10 and 19 reported 6,852 rape cases in the past statistical period.

Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal recorded the most rape cases of any single police station (338 cases), followed by Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape (280 cases) and Thohoyandou in Limpopo (268 cases).

Another sex crime shown to be on the rise was sexual assault, which increased by 9.6%.

The most cases were recorded in the Western Cape, followed by  Gauteng and KZN.

The murder rate of women decreased by 5.4%, but there was a 2.9% increase in the number of cases involving children. 

Attempted murder cases recorded among children increased by a massive 11.8%, while sexual offences cases increased by 3.8%.