Ramaphosa vows to tackle gender-based violence in South Africa

South Africa will step up policing and provide additional funding to combat gender-based violence, after two days of protests over crimes against women, said President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The demonstrations, which were triggered by the killing last week of 19-year-old University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana, saw about 10 000 people assemble outside parliament in the city centre on Thursday. A day earlier, more than 1 000 gathered outside a World Economic Forum event the city is hosting.

A woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa, and more than 40 000 rapes are reported every year, police data shows. The national murder rate of 35.2 per 100 000 people is more than six times higher than the US.

“This is the time to come together as a nation to confront our problems directly,” Ramaphosa said in a televised address. “These killings have caused great pain and outrage throughout the country because acts of such brutality have become all too common in our communities.”

Mrwetyana was raped and bludgeoned to death at a post office in Cape Town. Her death followed the killing of champion boxer Leighandre Jegels, who was allegedly shot by an ex-boyfriend, and Meghan Cremer, who was allegedly abducted from her home and murdered by three men.

South Africa has also experienced a wave of xenophobic attacks over the past two weeks, which have seen scores of foreign-owned shops looted and burned. At least 10 people have died and 423 have been arrested in the central Gauteng province.

“The violence has largely subsided and police have increased reinforcements and visibility in priority areas to ensure the safety of all within the borders of our country,” Ramaphosa said. “There can be no excuse for the attacks on the homes and businesses of foreign nationals just as there can be no excuse whatsoever for xenophobia or any form of intolerance.”

The violence has detracted from Ramaphosa’s efforts to sell South Africa as an investment destination at the annual WEF gathering of political and business leaders, and soured his administration’s relations with its African counterparts.

Key highlights from the speech:

• The finance minister will be asked to allocate additional funding to a campaign to combat gender-based violence.
• Parliament will be asked to discuss and identify emergency measures that can be implemented without delay to address the scourge.
• Ramaphosa will propose to cabinet that all crimes against women and children attract harsher minimum sentences.
• The state will oppose bail for those accused of rape.
• A national register of offenders will list all men convicted of acts of violence against women and children.
• Besides the arrests in Gauteng, 21 people have been detained in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province in connection with violence meted out to truck drivers.

© 2019 Bloomberg L.P.