Femicide Crisis in South Africa
Police discover tenth woman's body in South Africa amid rising serial killer fears.
Anonymous
Police found a partly clothed woman’s body Saturday morning at Mooifontein Cemetery in the Vusimusi section of Tembisa South, bringing the number of women found in Ekurhuleni since mid-July to 10; one report counted it as the 11th recent discovery in Gauteng. Her identity and cause of death have not been officially confirmed, and police say a post-mortem will help establish how she died. Investigators have assembled specialist teams and have not established whether the cases are connected, although the provincial police chief said similarities mean a serial killer cannot be ruled out. Two women have been charged in connection with the ninth victim’s death, which police believe may have stemmed from a relationship dispute and may be unrelated to the other cases. The discoveries have intensified concern over gender-based violence in South Africa, which has one of the world’s highest femicide rates.
Key Points
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The victim’s friend recognized her clothes in a photograph after the two had been together at a bar the previous evening; the friend said, “I don’t know what I’m going to say to her children.”
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The earlier victims were mostly in their 20s and 30s, and some were found stripped and showing signs of sexual assault. The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties on July 15; a suspect was arrested two days later.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa said the discovery was “a shame on the men of South Africa that we continue to kill the women of our beautiful country.”
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The South African government has declared gender-based violence a national disaster; the country has more than 60 killings a day on average, according to AFP.
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