MALAIKA MAHLATSI | Sexual offences courts a good idea, but there are many hurdles

In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that 16 new courts will be established for sexual offences. This same declaration was made in his previous Sona, resulting in only half of the promised courts being built. Over the years, the government has made bold declarations about implementing mechanisms to fight gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) – a crisis that has torn our country asunder.

Despite this, SA continues to grapple with rates of GBVF that are among the highest in the world. In the first quarter of 2025, SAPS recorded 13,452 sexual offences, marking a slight increase from the same quarter in the previous year. This total included 10,688 rape cases, 1,872 sexual assaults, 656 attempted sexual offences, and 236 contact sexual offences.

Data released this month indicated a rate of about 78 rapes per day, which translates to more than three every hour. While this may sound positive, various studies and research indicate that more rape cases go unreported, with the Medical Research Council placing the number at one in nine and Women for Change placing it at one in 25. This makes sense if we consider that less than 10% of reported rapes end in conviction.

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In response to the high rates, and after years of protest action by anti-GBVF organisations, the government finally declared GBVF as a national crisis and disaster in November 2025. The declaration enables faster, coordinated action and, significantly, unlocks emergency funding to strengthen shelters, victim and survivor-friendly spaces, and law enforcement. This basically treats GBVF as a crisis necessitating the same urgency as a natural disaster.

Ramaphosa’s Sona declaration occurred in this context. The building of specialised courts for sexual offences is a good idea, but these courts will not work when survivors’ and victims’ first line of engagement with the criminal justice system is so fundamentally broken. overBefore cases get to the courts, they must first pass through the reporting and investigation phases, both of which are dysfunctional.

Over the years, SAPS has established GBV desks at 1,171 police stations, with the aim of prioritising GBVF cases and preventing secondary victimisation. But while these desks exist on paper, they’re poorly resourced, with many lacking dedicated, trained staff – a fact that was noted in oversight visits by the Commission for Gender Equality. The result is that victims and survivors still experience secondary victimisation due to insensitive and untrained police officers, deepening the mistrust that they have towards the police, further increasing rates of under-reporting.

Infrastructure challenges also deepen the problem. In many rural areas, police fail to effectively handle GBV complaints due to limited resources hindering their ability to provide transport or support to victims and survivors. Investigations of cases are also impacted due to significant non-compliance with the Domestic Violence Act at many police stations. Poor filing practices and inadequate follow-up on cases have been reported, significantly impacting cases before they even get to the courts.

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