South Africa: Violence Against Women 'Inhuman', Says President Ramaphosa

What the report says

President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa’s violence against women is “inhuman” and urged a stronger response from government and society, according to SAnews.gov.za as carried by AllAfrica. He spoke from the Union Buildings in Tshwane on Tuesday night, after the discovery of another woman’s body in Springs, Gauteng, brought to 11 the number of women found dead in Ekurhuleni since July.

The report says the president placed the killings under a specialised multidisciplinary investigation that has been elevated to the national level and is being coordinated through the South African Police Service. That team includes detectives, crime intelligence, forensic specialists, investigative psychologists and digital investigators, with assistance from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research on digital forensics. Ramaphosa said police had already made arrests in some cases and had gathered evidence including DNA, blood samples, clothing, cellphones and phone records.

Police, however, have not yet found evidence that the deaths were the work of a single perpetrator, and all possibilities remain open, the president said. The article adds that the cases have deepened public concern about violence against women in South Africa, a long-running national crisis that officials and activists have repeatedly linked to weak prevention, harmful attitudes and gaps in protection.

Ramaphosa also paid tribute to several women and girls whose deaths were mentioned in the address, saying their names represent only part of the wider toll. He framed the killings as a source of national shame and said the country must do more to protect women and girls.