President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation on gender based violence and femicide on Tuesday night. Image credit GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted on Tuesday night that government has not done enough to stop violence against women. In his Ramaphosa GBV address to the nation, he announced four urgent measures with strict deadlines. The address followed a wave of killings of women in Ekurhuleni.
Ramaphosa described violence against women as a source of deep pain and national shame. He also said the country cannot rely on policing alone to end the crisis. Instead, he called for action from all of society.
Four measures announced in the Ramaphosa GBV address
First, government will launch a national case recovery operation. Within 60 days, police must identify all unsolved murders, attempted murders and rapes involving women and children. They must also flag cases where suspects are known but remain free. Then, within 90 days, authorities must draw up recovery plans for priority cases. According to Ramaphosa, these cases will not go cold.
Second, police and forensic services must present a funded plan to cut the forensic backlog within 60 days. In addition, they must fast track DNA samples from gender based violence and femicide cases. Reports put the current DNA backlog at about 140 000 samples.
Third, every municipality must carry out a women’s safety audit. These audits will look for dangers such as broken streetlights, overgrown spaces, abandoned buildings and unsafe transport routes. Municipalities must then fix the most urgent risks within 90 days or include them in a funded plan.
Finally, several departments must submit a package to tackle alcohol related violence within 60 days. This will target unlicensed outlets and taverns that trade outside their permitted hours. However, Ramaphosa stressed that alcohol does not cause gender based violence and never excuses a perpetrator.
Turning to Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa said police have not found evidence that one person committed all the killings. He also noted that families reported only two of the victims missing. For this reason, he reminded the public that nobody needs to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing person.
Since July, police have found the bodies of at least eleven women in and around Ekurhuleni. Meanwhile, detectives have made arrests in two of the cases.
Government declared gender based violence and femicide a national disaster in November 2025. Still, it did not create a dedicated emergency fund. As a result, departments must use their existing budgets to fund the new measures.
For now, the Ramaphosa GBV address sets a clear timeline, and South Africans will watch closely to see whether departments meet his deadlines.
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