COMMITTEE EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER 44% FEMICIDE CASES WHERE PERPETRATORS ARE NOT IDENTIFIED

The Portfolio Committee on Social Development calls on law enforcement agencies and relevant stakeholders to urgently finalise the National Integrated Strategy on the Prevention of Femicide in South Africa, which seeks to strengthen the legislation and develop femicide-specific policies and guidelines to prevent and respond to femicide, among other objectives. The committee received a briefing from the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) on its research studies and findings on the scope of gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa. MRC reported that its 2020/2021 research study revealed that the percentage of femicide cases where the investigation did not identify a perpetrator had increased to 44% from 30% in 2017.