“We Live Behind Bars”: Professor Spreads Femicide Issue in SA to International Media

• Professor Naeemah Abrahams of the South African Medical Research Council told Channel 4 News that women in SA do not feel safe
• The interview came after a ninth body was found in the Kempton Park murder investigation, prompting police to urge women to remain vigilant about their safety
• Abrahams pushed back hard at police advice, saying the message placed the burden of safety on victims rather than perpetrators

A leading South African scientist took the country's femicide crisis to an international audience after appearing in a Channel 4 News interview shared on TikTok on 19 September 2026.

Professor Naeemah Abrahams, a Chief Specialist Scientist at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town, spoke plainly about the reality facing women across the country. Her remarks followed the discovery of a ninth body, which prompted South African police to urge women to stay vigilant about their personal safety.

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"No, women do not feel safe," Abrahams told the Channel 4 interviewer. "We don't go and run outside. We don't walk outside. We live behind bars. Our lives are not normal. Because we do not know when we would be a victim, when we will be that person that would be killed."

Police advice draws criticism

When presented with the police's public statement urging vigilance, Abrahams was visibly frustrated. She rejected the framing entirely, arguing that placing the responsibility on women amounted to indirect victim-blaming.

"They're not asking men to stop the violence," she said. "They're speaking to us women, who are the victims, to change our behaviour. It's really not fair for us to raise our daughters and tell our children to be vigilant all the time."

She added that women are routinely warned about what they wear, where they walk, and how they carry themselves, while the message to men about driving and stopping violence remains absent.

"The message is for women to protect themselves," she said, "and they are blamed indirectly."

Professor Abrahams has spent more than 30 years researching gender-based violence in South Africa. Her work was central to the development of the country's first National Femicide Prevention Strategy in 2021, and she led the RICE study, which found that women who survive rape are 60% more likely to contract HIV.

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According to research from the Human Sciences Research Council, roughly 36% of South African women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The Department of Social Development's Gender-Based Violence Command Centre recorded over 420 calls per day in September 2026.

Viewers around the world respond

The interview shared on the TikTok page resonated far beyond South Africa's borders, with people from multiple countries weighing in:

@mirandakihlstrom wrote:

"Women worldwide are not safe; what is wrong with men 😡😡😡"

@None of your business said:

"Pray for my country 🇿🇦🇿🇦."

@Roxelz shared:

"But we have NEVER felt safe."

@createwithady asked:

"Why are they not asking men to be vigilant? To protect men. To keep an eye on your fellow men and keep them in check?!!"

@Vusi commented:

"I lived in South Africa, woman or man, no one is safe..."

@snuglybob 6 added:

"Same in the UK."

@Angry_Misandrist🦂♏ said:

"We were told not to be emotional!! 😡💔"

See the full TikTok clip below:

More on GBV in South Africa

• Briefly News recently reported on veteran actor Sello Maake kaNcube, who launched a new platform for men rooted in accountability and meaningful conversation.
• A TikToker called out a popular podcast over comments made about a missing woman, and many viewers are demanding consequences.
• A Thembalethu mum's search for her missing teenage daughter led her to a disturbing discovery, and South Africans are still talking about it.

Source: Briefly News