South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered nationwide women’s safety audits and a review of unresolved gender-based violence cases after at least 11 women were killed in Ekurhuleni since July. Local authorities must identify dangerous areas, while police and the National Prosecuting Authority must review cases. The orders put the state’s response under scrutiny as women continue to shoulder the daily cost of violence.
Women Carry the Warning
“Women change their routes home, avoid going out at night and warn one another about dangerous places and dangerous men. We have placed the burden of male violence on women,” Ramaphosa said. The warning and route changes amount to community self-protection in the face of danger. His own words name who has been left to manage it.
Residents in Ekurhuleni were frightened, particularly after the 11th victim’s body was discovered Sunday. The area remained on high alert as authorities investigated whether a serial killer or killers were responsible. Police hadn’t confirmed that the killings were linked.
Four suspects had been arrested, Ramaphosa said. In some cases, police had identified persons of interest and collected forensic material, including DNA, blood samples, clothing, cellphones and cellphone records. A high-level investigating team took on the Ekurhuleni killings. The official machinery is moving. The cases and fear remain part of residents’ lives.
Orders From the Top
The nationwide safety audit must be completed within 60 days. Local authorities are to identify high-risk areas, including places with broken streetlights, abandoned buildings and poorly secured parks. Ramaphosa said funded plans would follow the audits to address identified hotspots. The announcement sets deadlines and assigns work to public authorities, but the source gives no details about how those plans will be carried out.
Police and the National Prosecuting Authority have 90 days to review unresolved cases involving murders, attempted murders, rapes and other gender-based violence. Ramaphosa announced the measures in a televised national address on Tuesday, September 29.
South Africa recorded 5,427 homicides from April to July, according to official crime statistics. UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality, says South Africa’s femicide rate is among the highest in the world. A 2022 study by a South African think tank found that more than 35% of South African adult women had experienced physical or sexual violence at some point.
The State’s Own Accounting
Ramaphosa called on men to lead the fight against gender-based violence and acknowledged that most women who experience such violence know their attackers. The appeal places responsibility on men, while the announced audits and case reviews assign duties to government authorities. No election or legislative remedy was announced.
“This can’t be accepted as a normal part of life in South Africa,” Ramaphosa said. “We must confront an uncomfortable truth. What we’ve done hasn’t been enough.” The president’s admission sits beside his new deadlines: 60 days for safety audits and 90 days for case reviews. Those measures are the government’s stated response to killings, unresolved cases and warnings women already exchange with one another.