Women across South Africa are enrolling in firearms training and martial arts classes, seeking protection in a country where gender-based violence rates are so severe that the government declared them a national disaster in November.
At a shooting range in Bronkhorstspruit, near Pretoria, girls and women ranging in age from 13 to 65 practice firing 9 mm pistols under the direction of Claire van der Westhuizen, the lead female instructor at Lone Operator shooting range. The course is designed specifically for women and covers real-world scenarios including self-defense shooting from the ground. In Johannesburg, hundreds of miles away, women attend jiujitsu classes to learn how to escape chokeholds, avoid being trapped against walls, and flee attacks.
South Africa’s femicide rates are five to six times higher than the global average, according to U.N. Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality. Mpiwa Mangwiro-Tsanga, policy development and advocacy manager at Sonke Gender Justice, a women’s rights organization, said statistics show approximately 15 women are killed each day in South Africa due to gender-based violence, and one in three women has been sexually abused or sexually harassed.
“That is how bad it is,” Mangwiro-Tsanga said. “We are competing with conflict countries.”
A 2022 South African study found more than 35% of women aged 18 and older had experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. In most cases, the perpetrator was an intimate partner.
Women describe the push toward self-reliance
Sunette du Toit, a working 51-year-old grandmother, said she was pushed to take up firearm training after surviving a home invasion by five men who tied her up and ransacked her house.
“I was not in a position to defend myself at that point,” du Toit said. “I had to do this (firearm training) for myself to gain my confidence back to be able to move in public, and even in my own house, without feeling vulnerable.”
Du Toit called the women’s firearm training group “a family of support.”
In Johannesburg, Tatiana Leyka, 33, said she took up jiujitsu knowing South Africa’s reputation for gender violence.
“I think it’s a No. 1 priority,” Leyka said. “With the rise in numbers of gender-based violence, it’s good for you to be able to defend yourself, even if it’s just to be able to get away.”
South Africa regulates firearm ownership heavily. Anyone who wants to own a gun for self-defense must be over 21 and pass proficiency tests and background checks before they may legally carry.
Government response has fallen short, advocates say
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the national disaster after years of pressure from women’s advocacy groups. In announcing the measure, he said South Africa has “the dubious distinction of having one of the world’s highest levels of violence against women and girls.”
The declaration allows authorities to direct funds toward the issue, but advocates say the crisis has persisted through decades of government promises. They cite socio-economic inequality, strong patriarchal attitudes, and an underresourced police force as contributing factors, and point to a national strategic plan announced six years ago that has not resolved the problem.
“A lack of women’s shelters and other places of safety shows South Africa’s policies have been progressive on paper but poorly implemented,” Mangwiro-Tsanga said.
South Africa’s criminal justice system has struggled to hold perpetrators accountable. Only around 8% of rapes reported in 2021 resulted in convictions, according to Amnesty International; many cases were dropped from the criminal justice system, while most were never prosecuted.
“The reality here in South Africa is that a man who raped a woman will be arrested, go to prison. The state will spend more on that rapist than it will spend on the survivor of that rape,” Mangwiro-Tsanga said.
Training women carries its own burden, advocates warn
Michael Palin, a jiujitsu gym manager, said some women keep their training secret from partners and husbands, telling them they are going to a shopping center near the gym.
Marguerite Hershensohn, a 49-year-old beauty therapist, attends gun classes alongside her 21-year-old daughter, Nika. She said she is relieved her daughter is learning to protect herself rather than relying solely on police.
“Yes, we have to respect those authorities,” Hershensohn said. “But they’re not always around.”
Mangwiro-Tsanga cautioned that the trend of women resorting to firearms or martial arts when society fails to protect them can itself be problematic. Rather than directing accountability toward perpetrators, she said, it “burdens women and girls who are already burdened.”
Stephanie Graham, a jiujitsu instructor, acknowledged the limits of training while defending its value for the women in her program.
“We can only hope that it’ll give us more confidence and heightened awareness so that we can perceive a threat a little bit earlier than the average person would,” Graham said.