Ramaphosa acknowledges state failures in gender-based violence crisis

President Ramaphosa Confronts South Africa’s Deepening Gender-Based Violence Crisis

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Tuesday evening, delivering a heartfelt admission that the state has failed to adequately protect women from a persistent wave of gender-based violence and femicide. Speaking directly to the public following a series of brutal killings that have shaken the country, Ramaphosa called for immediate, concrete accountability within government institutions.

“What weighs on me most is that seven years ago, in this same month, I stood before the nation to speak about this same crisis,” Ramaphosa said during his address, describing the violence inflicted on women as a source of “pain and national shame.” The President referred to his September 2019 address to the country, which followed the tragic rape and murder of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana.

Acknowledging Systemic State Failures

Refusing to deflect responsibility onto policing alone, Ramaphosa pointed squarely at institutional shortcomings that leave women vulnerable. He highlighted that 11 women’s bodies had been discovered in Ekurhuleni since July, alongside numerous other victims ranging from young girls to an elderly grandmother across South Africa.

“Women should not have to live in fear because government has failed to repair a light, clear a public space, process evidence or enforce a law. Where the state fails women, we must hold ourselves accountable and correct those failures,” Ramaphosa stated. He emphasized that authorities cannot simply arrest or police their way out of the crisis, nor should they wait until a murder occurs before intervening.

The President detailed specific administrative breakdowns that compound the danger for survivors. A woman reporting abuse should never be turned away from a police station, and protection orders must not degrade into useless paper while abusers continue their threats. Furthermore, he noted that forensic samples must not sit unprocessed while perpetrators remain free.

Four Concrete Interventions and Accountability Measures

To combat these entrenched structural failures, Ramaphosa announced four immediate governmental interventions designed to overhaul the state’s response mechanism:

• National case-recovery operation: Police and justice departments are mandated to audit unresolved murders, attempted murders, rapes, and serious sexual offenses involving women and children within 60 days, establishing recovery plans for priority and stalled cases within 90 days.
• Forensic backlog: Police and forensic authorities must produce a funded plan within 60 days to reduce backlogs and establish turnaround standards for priority GBVF cases, with public progress reports due every quarter.
• Women’s safety audits: Municipalities have 60 days to identify critical infrastructure risks, including broken streetlights, unsafe public spaces, abandoned buildings, and dangerous transport routes, with urgent hazards slated for funded implementation plans within 90 days.
• Alcohol-related violence: The government will develop a coordinated legislative and enforcement package to reduce alcohol-related violence, targeting unlicensed liquor outlets and establishments operating outside permitted hours.

While stressing that alcohol does not cause gender-based violence—as responsibility always rests with the perpetrator—Ramaphosa noted that harmful alcohol use can aggravate interpersonal violence. The Inter-Ministerial Committee and the National Council on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide will monitor these measures closely, with the first consolidated progress report expected in 90 days and further reports to be published quarterly.

Grief and Despair on the Ground

Despite the policy announcements, families grappling with immediate tragedy feel the commitments arrive far too late. Outside the Thembisa Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 29 September, Vincent Nxumalo expressed the profound anguish of his family following the death of 49-year-old Ntombifuthi Nxumalo.

As the family struggled to arrange the return of her body to KwaZulu-Natal, Nxumalo made a direct appeal for stronger state protection, underscoring the stark gap between policy initiatives and the raw, unyielding grief experienced in communities nationwide.