During the official release of the crime statistics for the first quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced that 10,006 people were raped between April and June 2021.

A sample of 5,439 rape cases revealed that 3,766 of these incidents took place either at the home of the victim or the home of the rapist. 487 of the rape cases were domestic violence related. 

Police stations in Inanda in KwaZulu-Natal, Delft in the Western Cape and Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape have the highest recorded incidents of rape, making them the three rape hotspots in South Africa.

Cele said that the increase of 4 201 cases, amounts to a 72.4% increase, compared to the ’’skewed’’ previous reporting period, as a result of the hard Level 5 lockdown that took place last year. This number drops to 2.8% when compared to the ’’normal’’ period prior to lockdown. 

‘The double-digit increase in most crime categories is attributed to the impact of the adjusted lockdown levels and distorted crime trends,’ said Cele. ‘While we will not sweep the high and unnatural figures under the carpet, we will instead bring to the fore a holistic picture of comparing the 2021/2022 Q1 crime figures to a ‘normal period’ two years ago where there was no lockdown.’

According to the SAPS, the following places and situations make you more vulnerable to rape:

• In dark and deserted places at night;
• If you look vulnerable (e.g. walking alone in desolate areas);
• If you appear uncertain, e.g. if you do not know where you are going;
• If you do not lock your car doors and close your windows;
• If you talk to strangers;If you stop for stranded vehicles or people;
• If your vehicle is faulty and you have to stop for help.

Some of the things that you can do to protect yourself:

• Be aware of your surroundings.
• Be alert at traffic lights and stop streets.
• Walk close to the curb and face oncoming traffic.
• Try and keep to well-lit areas or where there are people.
• Do not hitch-hike.
• Do not pick up hitch-hikers.
• Keep Securadoor Self Defence Pepper Spray with you at all times and use it when necessary.

Putting your safety in your hands, pepper spray is an ideal self-defence product that provides people in danger with an opportunity to escape.  It can be used to ward off an assailant by temporarily debilitating them when sprayed in the face. 

Securadoor Self Defence Pepper Spray is available in three useful variants:

• The Securadoor Key Ring Pepper Spray fits on your key chain for easy access and goes with you wherever you go
• The Securadoor Joggers Pepper Spray is equipped with an elastic Velcro strap that can be attached to your wrist or hand and can be used when cycling or jogging.
• The Securadoor Lipstick Pepper Spray is designed to be concealed as lipstick that comfortably fits into your pocket or handbag for easy access when needed.

Order yours today from Makro and Takealot.