The National Prosecutor Authority (NPA) is particularly concerned where children and women are the victims of crime and deals with such cases as matters of priority. The Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit within the NPA is looking towards and assisting these victims in the Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCC’s) of South Africa. Sixty-one (61) TCC’s have already been established throughout the country. Safe spaces for such victims are created. These centres also provide improved services such as treatment and educational assistance to these victims. Prosecutors in court are attending to these matters as priority though it is difficult to keep record of all such cases especially when the crimes, as appears from the question above, are not committed solely due to the gender or age of the victim. The NPA is manually though recording data on both femicide as well as intimate femicide cases. Regarding crimes against women the NPA can supply the data on convictions and acquittals pertaining to femicide and intimate partner femicide only.
During the financial year 2021/22 (April to August 2022) the following was recorded:
a) There was a total of three hundred and ninety-six (396) successful convictions relating to femicide counts and three hundred and sixteen (316) convictions relating to intimate partner femicide counts.
b) There were twenty-four (24) acquittals relating to femicide counts and twenty-one (21) acquittals pertaining to intimate partner femicide counts. The reasons for the acquittals were not recorded and it cannot be confirmed that it was “as a result of poor or incomplete investigations by the South African Police Service”.
c) The information regarding cases withdrawn by the victim and /or victim’s family is not recorded by the NPA and cannot be supplied.
d) The number of cases awaiting trial can also not be supplied as it is not recorded.
e) The number of cases awaiting sentencing is not available as it is not recorded.
F) The NPA is unable to supply information pertaining to cases still under investigation in each province for: