Close to 1,000 women were killed in South Africa in just the last three months alone while close to 600 children have lost their lives since April.
Women and children continue to bear the brunt of violent crimes in the country.
In total, a staggering 7,002 people were killed across South Africa in the past three months.
This is contained in the latest crime statistics released on Wednesday by Police Minister Bheki Cele.
Cele said over 13,000 women were victims of assault with intend to cause grievous bodily harm between July and September 2022 and 1,277 women were victims of attempted murder.
“Shockingly, in just six months, 558 children were killed in South Africa from April to the end of September 2022,” Cele said.
Police are investigating attempted murder dockets of 294 children from July to September 2022.
He said 1,895 Assault GBH cases, with children as victims, were opened with the police during this reporting period.