Vikash Rajwanta, a Durban businessman, lured his estranged wife, Unitha Rajwanta, under false pretences to a centre they jointly owned in Glen Ashley, in Durban North, to 'see a tenant', where he shot and killed her in the parking lot before taking his own life.
Image: Supplied
HORRIFIC cases of femicide made headlines in the POST (April 1 – 5, 2026). These front page reports on intimate partner violence highlight a silent war being waged. It is a war not of soldiers and borders, but of power, control, and deep-seated systemic inequality playing itself out in our cities, suburbs and rural areas.
This is the reality of femicide – the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender. While homicide rates globally tell a story of general violence, femicide tells a specific, darker story of how societies value, or fail to value, the lives of women. To understand femicide, one must first look beneath the surface of the act itself. It is rarely an isolated incident of "passion" or a random act of cruelty. Instead, it is almost always the lethal climax of a long-standing pattern of gender-based violence (GBV).
At its core, femicide is driven by unequal power dynamics. In many cultures, patriarchal structures create a hierarchy where men are socialised to be dominant and women subservient. When a woman challenges this hierarchy – by seeking independence, ending a relationship, or simply asserting her autonomy – the response is often a violent attempt to reclaim control. This is why the most dangerous time for a victim of domestic abuse is often when they decide to leave.
In the South African context, these drivers are magnified by a unique set of historical and socio-economic pressures. Decades of institutionalised violence during apartheid have left a legacy of intergenerational trauma, where violence has become a normalised method of conflict resolution. Coupled with extreme economic inequality, many women find themselves trapped. When a woman is financially dependent on her abuser, her ability to escape is tied to her survival, often forcing her to remain in high-risk environments until it is too late.
Furthermore, the high prevalence of substance abuse and the easy accessibility of firearms act as accelerators, turning volatile situations into fatal ones.
South Africa has some of the highest rates of femicide in the world, a statistic that has prompted the government and civil society to declare it a "second pandemic". The response has been outlined in the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF (2020–2030). However, policy on paper does not equate to safety on the ground.
The NSP is built on six pillars, ranging from accountability and leadership, to economic power. The goal is to move beyond reactionary policing and toward systemic prevention. One of the most tangible successes in this framework is the establishment of Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs). These "one-stop" facilities are designed to reduce secondary victimisation by providing medical care, psychological support, and legal assistance – all under one roof. By streamlining the process, the TCCs aim to improve the notoriously low conviction rates for gender-based crimes, which currently hover between 4% and 8%.
While the problem may seem insurmountable, international examples offer a blueprint for success. Different nations have tackled femicide through various innovative ways. In India, the introduction of women-only police stations has been transformative. These stations led to a 21% increase in the reporting of domestic violence. When victims feel they will be heard by someone who understands their lived experience, the wall of silence begins to crumble.
In Tanzania, data shows that when women have their own money, they have more ability to leave an abusive relationship. Cash transfer programmes in East Africa and South America have successfully reduced intimate partner violence by lowering household stress, and giving women the financial means to relocate or support themselves independently.
In Kenya, the IMpower curriculum, which teaches youth about consent, boundaries and self-defence, has shown that education can literally save lives. By teaching boys to challenge toxic masculinity and girls to recognise early red flags, the rate of sexual assault in participating communities dropped significantly. When looking at the global map of femicide, countries like Singapore, Japan and Iceland consistently report the lowest rates. The reasons for this are multifaceted. These societies generally boast high levels of social stability, low overall crime rates and robust governance. In Singapore, for example, the femicide rate is a fraction of South Africa’s, largely due to a combination of strict law enforcement and high levels of female participation in the workforce.
Understanding femicide requires us to stop looking at it as a "women’s issue", and start seeing it as a societal failure. Every statistic represents a daughter, a mother or a friend whose potential was extinguished by a system that failed to protect her. In South Africa, the path to ending femicide lies in the intersection of law, economy and culture. We must enforce the laws we have, empower women economically so they are never forced to choose between poverty and abuse, and, importantly, engage men and boys in the conversation.
Organisations like Sonke Gender Justice and social workers in child welfare societies are proving that when men challenge the "strongman" archetype and embrace partnership over patriarchy, the cycle of violence can be broken. Femicide is not an inevitable part of the human condition. It is a patterned choice made by individuals and permitted by systems. By learning from global successes and committing to the long-term work of cultural change, we can move toward a future where "home" is a place of safety for everyone, regardless of gender.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.