Opinion article by Prof Mpumelelo E Ncube, Head of the Department of Social Work, University of the Free State

Femicide has become a defining feature of the South African social landscape, warranting urgent and sustained attention from the social sciences. Scholars and practitioners are called upon not only to analyse this endemic phenomenon but to assist society in contextualising and resolving it. Femicide refers to the gender-based killing of women, primarily perpetrated by men, often in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV), but also in broader socio-spatial settings where women are rendered vulnerable. This phenomenon is both a symptom and an outcome of deeply entrenched patriarchal structures, systemic gender inequalities, and moral decay within society. South Africa, tragically, has emerged as one of the global epicentres of this form of gender-based violence (GBV).

My own family has not been spared from the scourge. The recent murders of Olorato Mongale and Likhona Fose evoked profound memories of a similar trauma my family endured in August 2019, when my sister was brutally murdered. She had taken a day off from work due to illness and was at home with her domestic worker. A young man had been contracted to repair leaking roof tiles and arrived with a male relative to assist him. Unbeknownst to the two women, and with the clarity of hindsight, they had effectively let their murderers into their home.

Psychological distress, unresolved grief, and existential questioning

What followed was an act of unimaginable violence. The domestic worker was stabbed and burned beyond recognition in her living quarters. My sister was strangled in her sitting room. Although petrol had been poured over her body, the fire failed to ignite. Ironically, one of the assailants sustained burn injuries in the attempt. Due to swift intervention by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department and the South African Police Service, the perpetrators were apprehended within hours. However, justice was partial and uneven. While one was eventually sentenced to two life terms, the other was acquitted due to prosecutorial inadequacies, despite compelling physical evidence linking him to the crime.

Such partial justice, while technically consistent with the rule of law, exposes the deficiencies in South Africa’s criminal justice system, particularly in its response to GBV and femicide. This systemic failure compounds the pain experienced by bereaved families as they grapple not only with loss but also with the knowledge that impunity persists.

Since my sister’s death, countless women have been murdered in spaces once considered safe, such as homes, post offices, workplaces, educational institutions, taxis, and communities both urban and rural, including squatter camps and affluent suburbs alike. For my family, the grief has become a permanent wound, one that is managed but never healed. For the Mongale and Fose families, as well as many others, the pain remains raw and immediate.

The post-traumatic experience of femicide victims’ families is marked by psychological distress, unresolved grief, and existential questioning. The social support structures that may surround families immediately after the tragedy eventually fade, leaving many to endure their pain in isolation. This experience is not unique. It resonates across the country, in both known and undocumented cases. Often, these murders do not even make it into the public domain. For many families, the failure of the state to provide effective justice is further aggravated when perpetrators are released after serving minimal sentences, due in part to the principles of restorative justice. While such principles have merit in contexts where rehabilitation and reintegration are feasible, their application in the context of femicide, where the ultimate price has been exacted, can be ethically and emotionally problematic for the bereaved.

Broader landscape of violent crime

Beyond particular cases, we may need to focus on femicide within the broader landscape of violent crime in the country. Between 2022 and 2024, South Africa recorded approximately 80 500 murders in general. These killings stemmed from various sources, including interpersonal disputes, vigilante attacks, gang-related activities, taxi-industry conflicts, and armed robberies. Within this period, women accounted for about 14% of all murder victims. Reports indicate that methods of killing often include firearm use, stabbing, strangulation, and blunt force trauma. A significant portion of these murders, 32%, were perpetrated by intimate partners, while others involved acquaintances and strangers.

In contrast, men constituted about 85% of murder victims, often killed in the context of gang-related violence, vigilante reprisals, criminal disputes, and, to a lesser extent, domestic violence. Children represented just over 1% of murder victims. These trends have remained consistent annually.

From a demographic perspective, about 94% of all murder victims during this period were black Africans, inclusive of coloured and Indian/Asian populations, whereas white South Africans comprised about 5% of victims. This empirical reality discredits a narrative around so-called “white genocide”, which lacks statistical validity. Were murder rates to remain constant in a hypothetical scenario devoid of births, migration, or natural deaths, the black African, Coloured, and Indian populations would be eliminated first, simply due to their significantly higher exposure to violent crime.

It is important to understand that the South African homicide landscape cannot be reduced to femicide alone. While femicide reflects the violent expression of patriarchal control and gender-based subjugation, the generality of violent crime is equally alarming. However, femicide, by its nature, deserves unique analytical attention because of its gendered, intimate, and often symbolic character. 

From a social science standpoint, femicide in South Africa is not merely a criminal justice issue, as it reflects deeper structural and cultural pathologies. Patriarchal norms and toxic masculinities perpetuate ideals of control, dominance, and violence as markers of manhood, embedding GBV into the fabric of daily life. Socio-economic marginalisation, much of it rooted in the enduring legacies of apartheid, contributes to conditions of poverty, unemployment, and overcrowded urban settlements that create environments where violence thrives. Furthermore, psychological trauma and intergenerational patterns of violence further entrench cycles of abuse and emotional detachment. At the same time, moral degeneration, which points to the erosion of shared ethical values and collective responsibility, has created a societal vacuum in which violence becomes normalised. This is compounded by under-resourced and often ineffective state institutions, particularly in policing and the justice system, which struggle to deter crime and ensure accountability. As evidenced by the public reaction to the police killing of Olorato Mongale’s alleged murderer, the widespread support for retributive justice, including calls to reinstate the death penalty and expressions of relief at extrajudicial killings in general, reflects a deepening crisis of confidence in South Africa’s formal justice system.

South African femicide crisis is multi-layered

The call for a national dialogue on femicide is therefore more than a call for awareness but one of social transformation, a reimagining of how society addresses power, justice, gender, and morality. As social scientists, we must interrogate not only the structural conditions that perpetuate violence but also the epistemological, spiritual, and cultural tools available within African worldviews to reconstruct a moral order.

In conclusion, one argues that the South African femicide crisis is a multi-layered, deeply entrenched phenomenon that speaks to broader crises of violence, justice, and social ethics. While the statistics are shocking, they are only the visible surface of a submerged reality characterised by unaddressed trauma, institutional failure, and moral fatigue. Resolving this crisis requires more than legal reforms; it demands a re-education of societal norms, particularly concerning gender and violence. It calls for robust support systems for victims and their families, as well as a cultural transformation that promotes non-violence and affirms the dignity of all individuals. Furthermore, addressing femicide requires sustained economic growth that is underpinned by social justice and equity, as economic inequality exacerbates vulnerabilities that contribute to violence against women. Too often overlooked, it also necessitates spiritual and community-based healing processes that reconnect people to shared values and a sense of belonging.

In memory of Olorato Mangale, Likhona Fose, my sister, and thousands of others, the social sciences must reclaim their rightful place at the forefront of national healing and transformation.

Previous articles by Prof Ncube:

 Africa in the Global Arena: Strategic Agency or Continued Marginalisation?

 Reflecting on the festive season amidst national struggles and trauma

 The Scuppered Africa Dream

 Celebrating a Distorted Notion of Unity in Diversity