Gun violence is crippling South Africa’s health system, with gunshots now the leading cause of traumatic spinal cord injuries in the Western Cape.
Research shows firearms – not car crashes – are driving paralysis among young men, underscoring the devastating public health toll.
Calls for global health response
Gun Free SA, joining more than 100 organisations worldwide, is urging the World Health Organisation (WHO) to treat firearm violence as a preventable health crisis, demanding global action to integrate gun control into health policy and trauma care frameworks.
Claire Taylor, a researcher and policy analyst for Gun Free South Africa, said research from the Western Cape metropole shows that as far back as 2015, gunshot wounds were the leading cause of spinal cord injuries – not road traffic accidents.
Speaking during the recent launch of the Global Coalition for WHO Action on Gun Violence campaign, Taylor said: “Young men are the most likely victims and perpetrators of gun violence, killing each other and also killing women and children.”
In South Africa, she said, guns are the leading weapon used to murder and injure people.
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Health system under strain
“Gun violence places enormous strain on our health care system, yet guns remain systematically marginalised within health policy frameworks in South Africa and globally,” she said.
“WHO has the mandate, reach and authority to change this.
“With its presence in 150 countries, its power to set global health norms, and its proven track record on violence prevention, WHO is uniquely positioned to lead coordinated global action on firearm violence.”
Taylor said the campaign aimed to call for a public health approach to gun violence because of the huge impact gun violence has on the health of people.
Gaps in national gender violence strategy
She said it was surprising to see that though guns were the leading weapon used to murder women in SA, the 2020-2030 national strategy for gender-based violence and femicide, developed by the department of women, youth and people with disabilities, doesn’t mention guns and gun control.
“The World Health Organisation has the technical knowledge and relationships with member state governments to support them, including recommendations and guidelines to prevent gun violence in strategies like this and treat and care for gun violence victims,” she said.
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Taylor said when the Firearms Control Act was properly implemented between 2000 and 2010, gun-related deaths halved from 34 people a day to 18.
But she said the achievement was reversed due to dysfunction in firearms management and failures to remove guns in domestic violence cases.
Rising firearm deaths reverse earlier gains
“Gun Free SA is coordinating South African participation in the global campaign,” she said.
“The coalition includes organisations working on health care and trauma, violence prevention, women’s rights and gender-based violence, disability rights, legal advocacy and research.”
Statistics showed that gun-related murders increased from 31% to 44% between 2020 and 2025.
By comparison, knives are used to kill 10 people a day (3 747 murders). According to the statistics, an average of 43 people are shot but survive each day, and there were 15 873 attempted murders between April 2024 and March 2025.
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