South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned a "surge in murders of women and children", after the body of a young woman was found dumped under a tree in Dobsonville, Soweto, on Friday. Since the country entered alert Level 3 of the Covid-19 lockdown on 1 June, there has been a surge in gender-based violence and femicide, the president said in a statement on Saturday.
"According to the SAPS there has been an increase in violent crime, especially murders, since we entered alert level 3. We need to understand what factors are fuelling this terrible trend and, as society as a whole, address them urgently," the president said. Ramaphosa noted that South Africa had among the highest levels of intimate partner violence in the world, and that as much as 51% of South African women have experienced violence at the hands of someone with whom they are in a relationship.
To help us unpack all these we are joined by:
• Mienke Steytler is digital and content office at Amnesty International
• Bafana Khumalo is Director of Strategic Partnerships at Sonke and one of the organisation's co-founders.
• Nomathamsanqa Masiko is a human rights and gender activist
