{"id":4526,"date":"2026-09-18T09:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4526"},"modified":"2026-09-18T09:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:58:17","slug":"this-is-a-war-south-africa-battles-femicide-as-womens-bodies-pile-up-gender-equity-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4526","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is a war\u2019: South Africa battles femicide as women\u2019s bodies pile up | Gender Equity News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A ninth woman has been found dead in South Africa\u2019s Ekurhuleni municipality in about two months, intensifying concerns over violence against women and prompting renewed scrutiny of the government\u2019s response to the country\u2019s femicide crisis.<\/p>\n

The latest victim was found on Thursday morning in Dawn Park, a residential area of Boksburg, east of Johannesburg. The woman is believed to be in her thirties and was found half-naked and wrapped in a sheet. Police are investigating the deaths but have not established that all nine cases are connected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still investigating whether we are dealing with one perpetrator or a group of men that are behind the murders of these women,\u201d South African Police Service spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told the Reuters news agency on September 15.<\/p>\n

Mathe said investigators were also examining whether copycat crimes could be involved, but stressed that police had so far found no links between the cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an investigation that you can rush, because it is quite complex,\u201d she said. \u201cIt may at this stage involve multiple perpetrators. But let\u2019s leave it to the detectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth
Elizabeth Moselakgomo, a 38-year-old mother and runner who disappeared after leaving home in the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg, for her usual run around 5:30 pm on September 9 [Photo courtesy South African Police Service]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018It feels like individuals are being hunted\u2019<\/h2>\n

Princess Eurika Mogane, a commissioner at South Africa\u2019s Commission for Gender Equality, told Al Jazeera the killings reflected a broader crisis facing women across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a war. It feels like individuals are being hunted,\u201d Mogane said. \u201cWhen someone is the hunter, [the] best thing that you can do is to ensure that the prey are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) says its 24-hour helpline and affiliated shelters are seeing women arrive with increasingly severe experiences of abuse, including death threats, stalking, strangulation, coercive control and repeated violations of protection orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not isolated incidents,\u201d the organisation told Al Jazeera in an emailed statement. \u201cThey are indicators of a broader crisis in which violence against women has become deeply normalised in many communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Forensic
Forensic investigators work at the site where the body of a woman was discovered on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, September 17, 2026 [Themba Hadebe\/ AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Adjust our lives to perpetrators\u2019<\/h2>\n

Police advice urging women not to walk or run alone and to avoid isolated areas following the killings has prompted criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the women in South Africa right now are saying, \u2018You are basically telling us to adjust our lives to perpetrators,\u2019\u201d Mogane said.<\/p>\n

The NSMSA said women alter their routes, avoid travelling at specific times, share their locations with loved ones and restrict their movements to try to stay safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafety messaging should not imply that women can prevent violence simply by making different choices,\u201d the organisation told Al Jazeera. \u201cThe responsibility for violence lies with perpetrators, while the responsibility for protection lies with society and the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the women discovered dead was Elizabeth Moselakgomo, a 38-year-old mother and runner who disappeared after leaving home in the Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg, for her usual run about 5:30 pm on September 9.<\/p>\n

Her eight-year-old daughter raised the alarm when her mother did not return. Moselakgomo was found dead three days later on September 12.<\/p>\n

Nokukhanya Khanyile-Lenake, a specialist paediatrician and mental health advocate, told Al Jazeera that women, as it is, take multiple precautions to protect themselves \u201cfrom the dangers of gender-based violence\u201d.<\/p>\n

What particularly struck her, Khanyile-Lenake said, was that Moselakgomo\u2019s eight-year-old daughter \u201cknew the danger signs and did the right thing\u201d, realising her mother had not returned and notifying other family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that still wasn\u2019t enough,\u201d she said. \u201cAs women, we\u2019ve done the maximum to the point where we\u2019re even teaching our young children what to do, and it\u2019s still not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I saw was a woman who chose to take care of herself and make a decision she\u2019s probably made a thousand times before, which is just to go for a run,\u201d Khanyile-Lenake added.<\/p>\n

\"A
A poster is seen at a scene of a discovery of the body of a 38-year-old woman last week while jogging, in Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, September 17, 2026 [Themba Hadebe\/ AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018If I leave today, can I survive?\u2019<\/h2>\n

The killings come less than a year after South Africa classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster in November 2025. South Africa\u2019s parliament says the country\u2019s femicide rate is five times the global average.<\/p>\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged that perpetrators will face justice, while authorities say police patrols and deployments have been increased in high-risk areas.<\/p>\n

But Mogane questioned what had materially changed since the national disaster classification.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe declaration is there. But what progress has there been?\u201d she said, pointing to the need for more forensic facilities and shelters for survivors.<\/p>\n

The NSMSA said shelters continue to face inadequate and inconsistent funding, rising demand and capacity constraints, while survivors report delays in police responses and difficulties obtaining or enforcing protection orders.<\/p>\n

Leaving an abusive relationship can itself be one of the most dangerous periods for a woman, the organisation said, with survivors often simultaneously needing police protection, emergency accommodation, transport, healthcare, childcare and financial support.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many women, the fundamental question remains unchanged: \u2018If I leave today, can I survive financially, find safe accommodation, and remain protected from my abuser?\u2019\u201d the NSMSA said.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera asked the South African government what measures it has taken since the national disaster classification and for its response to criticism of its handling of violence against women, but had not received a response by the time of publication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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A ninth woman has been found dead in South Africa\u2019s Ekurhuleni municipality in about two months, intensifying concerns over violence against women and prompting renewed scrutiny of the government\u2019s response to the country\u2019s femicide crisis. The latest victim was found on Thursday morning in Dawn Park, a residential area of Boksburg, east of Johannesburg. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t