CrimeStats – Guns leading cause murder, attempted murder: Reducing gun availability key to curing SA’s violent crime epidemic
The 2018-19 national crime statistics show that guns are overwhelmingly the weapon used to kill, injure, threaten and intimidate: 47% of murders are due to gunshot (up from 41.3%), which means an additional two people are shot and killed every day compared to a year ago. Minister Cele stressed using “tried and tested methodologies”. Effective gun control is one such […]
Are guns effective for self-defence?
People in SA are scared, and believe that a gun can protect you and your family from criminals.
This is a myth. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that guns are rarely used for self-defence; when a gun is used in self-defence it increases the risk of being shot at, and thus shot, 4 to 5 times. Moreover, a gun is 4 times […]
Global Gun Destruction Day 9 July 2019 – Gun Free SA calls for destruction of guns to stop leaks fuelling murder
11 people were shot dead in Philippi East on the Cape Flats this past weekend, most likely with guns that were once legal before being lost or stolen. These murders could have been prevented if stockpiles of guns were destroyed.
The UN has declared 9th of July as #GunDestructionDay, making it the official date for destroying small arms worldwide. To help […]
Welcome police destruction of 30,000 unlicensed guns, calls for action to stop leakage risk
Gun Free SA welcomes today’s destruction by the police of 30,000 seized and surrendered firearms. The last such destruction took place on 27 October 2016. It is globally recognised that destroying excess, unwanted and recovered firearms is the only way to guarantee that these are not leaked into the illegal pool of weapons. Based on SA’s experience of guns earmarked […]
Request to declare polling stations firearm free zones on 8 May 2019
Letter by Gun Free SA, the Institute for Security Studies and the Human Sciences Research Council requesting that all polling stations across South Africa be declared as Firearms Free Zones under the Firearms Control Act (2000) during national elections on 8 June 2019 as a practical step to protect the lives of electoral officials and voters, and to send a […]
Immediate action needed to reduce SA political violence
With elections fast approaching, specific strategies can reduce high levels of violence associated with political contestation, 25 October 2018. Speakers at a workshop hosted by leading civil society organisations and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) called for immediate steps to bring down the high levels of political violence in the country, including limiting the availability of guns to […]
