Rape kits crisis ignites a storm

COURT CASES COMPROMISED

- TRACY-LYNN RUITERS [e-mail]

RAPE survivors in the Western Cape will find it difficult to prove their cases in court after several police stations across the province ran out of rape kits, essential in collecting evidence, a claim denied by police.

Reports of rape kit shortages across the Western Cape have ignited a fierce debate between police authorities and organisations working at the frontline of gender-based violence (GBV), with claims and counterclaims painting sharply contrasting versions of reality.

While the South African Police Service (SAPS) insists that the province has thousands of Adult and Paediatric Sexual Assault Evidence Kits in stock, on-the-ground accounts paint a far more troubling picture.

The controversy escalated after a highly placed source revealed that more than 20 police stations and FCS units were currently without D1 kits, used in adult sexual assault cases and very few D7 kits, used in child rape cases.

According to the source, shortages had affected stations not only across the Cape Flats but stretch as for as rural areas, where access barriers are already high.

Some of the kits that are available, the source added, had expired in October 2025, forcing officers to borrow from neighbouring stations or delay examinations. In several instances, survivors were reportedly told to wait, return later, or travel to other facilities.

According to internal documentation seen by this publication, out of 172 police stations across the Western Cape, more than 30 were reported to have zero D1 kits available, it was signed off on December 2, while several others had critically low stock.

Some of the most alarming examples included:

Redelinghuys: 0 D1 kits, 30 D7 kits;