South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced measures and stricter police reviews targeting gender-based violence following outrage over the murders of 11 women in Ekurhuleni. The response includes 60-day deadlines for forensic backlogs, reviews of unsolved cases, and a five-month mandate for local municipalities to repair broken infrastructure affecting public safety.
Emergency Police Reviews and Forensic Timelines
President Ramaphosa announced that South African police will review unsolved murders, attempted murders, and serious sexual offenses against women and children within 60 days. In addition, authorities must produce a funded plan to reduce the forensic evidence backlog for these cases within the same 60-day window. The actions follow intense public grief and anger after 11 women’s bodies were discovered dumped across Ekurhuleni, a municipality east of Johannesburg, since July 15. Police confirmed that suspects have been arrested in connection with three of the killings, while investigations into the remaining cases continue.
Municipal Infrastructure and Alcohol Policy Overhauls
Local governments across South Africa face a five-month deadline to address issues that compromise women’s safety, including repairing broken streetlights, clearing overgrown public spaces, and abandoned buildings. President Ramaphosa stated during a televised address that women should not have to live in fear because the government fails to repair a light, clear a public space, process evidence or enforce a law. The president also tasked five ministers with developing a 60-day plan to reduce alcohol-fueled violence. While emphasizing that alcohol does not cause gender-based violence, Ramaphosa noted that harmful alcohol use remains a significant aggravating factor in interpersonal violence.
Calls for Male Accountability and Community Mobilization
Addressing South African men directly, President Ramaphosa urged them to stop being silent men and to actively challenge relatives, friends, and colleagues who harass, humiliate, or abuse women. He acknowledged that the burden of male violence has been placed on women, who regularly organize, protest, alter their routes home, and warn one another about dangerous places and dangerous men. Civil society organizations and activists, however, voiced skepticism regarding the newly announced timelines. Amnesty International South Africa Executive Director Shenilla Mohamed stated that the measures will only mean something if they result in action and if there are consequences for inaction. Representatives from Sonke Gender Justice, Mpiwa Mangwiro-Tsanga and Bafana Khumalo, also expressed concern that the response remains heavily weighted toward what happens after violence has already occurred rather than a comprehensive prevention strategy.
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