South Africa to clean up high-risk areas after 12 women killed

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a sweeping clean-up of high-risk areas across the country following the discovery of 12 women's bodies in an area east of Johannesburg. The deaths in just two months have sparked a national outcry, with Ramaphosa calling gender-based violence an unacceptable part of life in South Africa.

The president admitted the country has not done enough to protect women and girls, announcing a multidisciplinary national emergency response to the murders, which have already resulted in four arrests. Ramaphosa emphasized that gender-based violence cannot be excused and admitted the government has fallen short in recent years in preventing such violence.

To address the issue, every municipality must conduct a women's safety audit to identify broken streetlights, overgrown public spaces, abandoned buildings, unsafe transport routes, poorly secured parks, and other hazardous conditions that may put women at risk. Additionally, Ramaphosa unveiled an enforcement package aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence, emphasizing that while alcohol does not cause gender-based violence, it is a significant aggravating factor.

He also called for a deeper change in attitudes that view women as inferior and hold the belief that men have the right to control women. Ramaphosa urged men and boys to take the lead in ending gender-based violence, stating that the solution cannot involve making women less free.