To the Government of the Republic of South Africa, the South African Police Service, Parliament and the relevant authorities responsible for public safety:

We, the undersigned citizens of South Africa, are calling for urgent, measurable action to prevent violent crime, strengthen the investigation of murders and disappearances, and protect people from gender-based violence and other forms of violent crime.

The recent deaths of women in and around Kempton Park and Ekurhuleni have once again shocked the country. But this cannot become another moment of national outrage that disappears when the news cycle moves on.

South Africans already know that gender-based violence, femicide and violent crime are a crisis.

We need more than awareness. We need a system that prevents violence, investigates it effectively and holds institutions accountable for protecting the public.

WHY WE ARE PETITIONING
In November 2025, Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) was officially classified as a National Disaster under the Disaster Management Act. The classification recognised the ongoing and immediate life-safety risks posed by GBVF and placed responsibility on the National Executive to coordinate and strengthen the national response.

But a declaration cannot be the end of the process.

It must result in measurable action.

We are therefore calling for a stronger, better-equipped and more accountable public-safety system, one that does not wait for a tragedy to become a national headline before action is taken.

We are not asking for another statement.

We are asking for action that can be measured.

WHAT WE ARE DEMANDING
1. Stronger policing in high-risk areas
Government must identify areas experiencing persistent violent crime, murders, disappearances and GBVF and ensure that policing resources are appropriately deployed to those areas.

This must include sufficient personnel, visible patrols, appropriate response capacity and evidence-based hotspot policing.

2. Stronger investigation and forensic capacity
Government must strengthen the capacity of SAPS and the broader criminal-justice system to investigate violent crime.

This includes sufficient detectives, specialized investigative capacity, forensic services, DNA processing, digital forensics, evidence management and other tools necessary to identify perpetrators and build successful cases.

3. A stronger national missing-person response
A missing person must be treated as a potential safety emergency, particularly where there are circumstances indicating a heightened risk of violence.

Government must strengthen the systems used to report, investigate, track and escalate missing-person cases and improve coordination between police, families, hospitals, forensic services and other relevant institutions.

4. Appropriate use of public-safety technology
Government must expand and modernize the use of appropriate technology to prevent and investigate violent crime.

This should include, where appropriate and subject to constitutional privacy protections:

·       public-space CCTV in identified high-risk areas;

·       body-worn cameras for police officers in appropriate operational contexts;

·       secure evidence-management systems;

·       crime mapping and data analysis;

·       improved digital investigation tools; and

·       systems that allow relevant authorities to respond more rapidly to missing-person and violent-crime reports.

Technology must strengthen public safety without creating unchecked surveillance.

5. Accountability and transparency
Government must publish meaningful, regular information about the country's public-safety response.

This should include measurable information on matters such as:

·       police staffing and vacancies;

·       policing capacity in high-risk areas;

·       murder and violent-crime investigations;

·       forensic and DNA backlogs;

·       missing-person cases;

·       investigative outcomes;

·       relevant technology deployment; and

·       progress against government commitments relating to GBVF and public safety.

South Africans should be able to see whether the resources allocated to public safety are producing results.

6. Adequate and accountable funding
The state must ensure that the police and criminal-justice institutions responsible for preventing and investigating violent crime have the resources necessary to perform their constitutional responsibilities.

Funding must be accompanied by measurable targets, transparent reporting and independent oversight.

More money alone is not enough. We need to know where the money goes, what it produces and whether it makes people safer.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT POLITICS
This petition is not an attack on a political party.

It is not an accusation against individual police officers.

It is not a call for vigilantism.

And it is not based on speculation about who may be responsible for the recent killings.

Citizens provide information. Professionals investigate. Courts determine guilt.

Our demand is simple:

The state must have the capacity, resources, systems and accountability mechanisms necessary to protect the people it serves.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
We are launching this petition publicly to demonstrate the strength of South African public support for meaningful action.

Our goal is to build a substantial body of citizens who are prepared to say:

We will not allow another tragedy to become another temporary news cycle.

As the petition grows, we will compile the signatures and supporting public submissions and seek formal engagement with the relevant government institutions and Parliament.

We will continue documenting the response and calling for measurable implementation.

At significant milestones, including 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 supporters — we will publish updates on the campaign and its next steps.

Ultimately, the objective is not simply to collect signatures.

The objective is to turn those signatures into sustained public accountability.

SOUTH AFRICA MUST BE SAFER
Every woman should be able to walk home.

Every man should be able to go to work.

Every child should be able to grow up without fear.

Every family should be able to report a missing loved one and know that the system will respond.

And every South African should be able to expect that when a violent crime occurs, the state has the capacity and determination to investigate it.

We are not asking for another statement.

We are asking for measurable action.

Sign this petition. Add your voice. Share it. And help turn public outrage into sustained public pressure for a safer South Africa.