This policy brief provides evidence and analysis that refutes the claim of a genocide against white farmers.
Farm attacks are a serious crime problem requiring dedicated law enforcement attention, but they do not amount to genocide. They represent a small part of violent crime overall in South Africa and their patterns are consistent with criminal rather than political motives. Recent statistics show a decline in violent farm crime. Effective rural safety solutions include stronger policing, community cooperation and tackling the root causes of South Africa’s broader crime challenges.
This document provides a factual analysis of what are often termed ‘farm attacks’ and ‘farm murders’ in South Africa. The analysis contained herein is based on data from the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other independent research organisations. South Africa has a very high rate of violent crime, with a murder rate of around 45 per 100 000 people. However, the vast majority of the 62 million people living in South Africa are not violent and do not engage in criminality. The 27 621 murders recorded during the 2023–2024 financial year were committed by a tiny fraction of the population.3 Most murders and violent crimes recorded by the police are the result of interpersonal violence. To a lessor but significant extent, murders are the result of criminality, such as armed robberies or conflict between organised criminal groups. Regardless of the circumstances leading to a murder, this crime causes severe trauma for the loved ones, friends and acquaintances of the victim and often those who witness or need to respond to the murder. Murders are not randomly distributed across South Africa but occur in specific geographical areas. Half of all murders occur in about 12% of policing precincts, and 20% occur in fewer than 3% of precincts. Most of these precincts are in metropolitan areas or in townships or underdeveloped areas on the outskirts of large cities. This policy brief aims to differentiate fact from fiction regarding violent crime in rural areas, particularly crimes affecting farming communities and highlight efforts to address violence in South Africa. It explains why the country is so violent, why there is no evidence of a genocide, who the rural victims are and how attacks on farms are defined. The final sections present detection and conviction rates for murder and reflect on the SAPS’s Rural Safety Strategy (RSS).
