Ramaphosa promises to address the country on GBV and Ekurhuleni killings

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Tuesday in response to the recent spate of killings and violence against women, ordering urgent action and announcing a 90-day timeline to fix the crisis. A total of 11 women were found murdered in and around the Ekurhuleni area in Johannesburg over the past two months.

In the public address, Ramaphosa said he shared the anger and the grief of the nation, acknowledging that there could be more victims beyond Ekurhuleni.

There are others whose names we do not yet know.

The government has called on law enforcement agencies to expedite the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the killing of women in Ekurhuleni and surrounding areas.

We cannot police our way out of gender-based violence alone. We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis alone.

We have placed the burden of male violence on women. That must change.

This cannot be accepted as a normal part of life in South Africa. We must confront an uncomfortable truth. What we have done has not been enough. We need to do much more. It has not been enough to prevent women from being killed.