South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged men to take more responsibility for violence against women, as he announced new measures to tackle the problem. The announcement comes amid public anger over a recent wave of murders.
President Ramaphosa acknowledged that previous efforts to protect women had been insufficient. He stated that police would review unsolved murders, attempted murders, and serious sexual offences against women and children, and develop a funded plan to reduce the forensic backlog for these cases, both within 60 days.
In a televised speech, the President also said that local governments would have five months to address issues compromising women’s safety, including broken streetlights, overgrown public spaces, and abandoned buildings. Additionally, five ministers have been tasked with creating a plan within 60 days to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence, though Ramaphosa emphasised that alcohol does not cause gender-based violence and responsibility lies with the perpetrator.
The country has been affected by the discovery of 11 women’s bodies in Ekurhuleni since 15 July, with eight found in the last three weeks. Suspects have been arrested in connection with three of these killings, and investigations are ongoing into all possibilities, with no evidence yet found of a single serial killer responsible for all 11 cases.
Activists, including Shenilla Mohamed of Amnesty International South Africa, expressed frustration that solid policy actions had not been taken sooner and voiced scepticism about the effectiveness of the announced measures without concrete action and consequences for inaction.