Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disability laments rising reports of femicide in SA
Sindisiwe Chikunga says she believes these statistics are propelled by the harmful social norms that discriminate against women and girls.
FILE: Minister of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga. Picture: @Dotransport/X
JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has lamented the rising reports of femicide in the country.
In a statement released on Thursday, she mentions that about 7,3 million South African women have experienced physical abuse, with more than two million having been sexually violated.
Chikunga says she believes these statistics are propelled by the harmful social norms that discriminate against women and girls.
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According to the National Library of Medicine, an academic article, South Africa’s femicide rates are five times the world’s average.
In the most recent incident on 1 June 2025, 14-year-old Likhona Fose was found murdered in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg.
A week earlier, Olorato Mongale was found dead in Lombardy, also west of Johannesburg.
She was last seen alive reportedly with a man she had been dating.
Chikunga agrees that the country’s femicide rates are high.
Department spokesperson Cassius Selala said, "The murder of women and girls is the most extreme form of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), with South Africa being known for having one of the highest rates of femicide in the world. Women, who make up 51.5% of South Africa's population, face ongoing violence or femicide.”
Chikunga has also challenged men to commit to changing harmful norms and toxic masculinity.