Provinces announce new GBV measures after Ekurhuleni women’s killings

The murder of multiple women in Ekurhuleni has prompted provincial authorities to move beyond condemnation and instead put measures in place to improve policing.

The measures by Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape include community-based activists, safety audits, and a dedicated police action plan.

On Friday, Premier Panyaza Lesufi said Gauteng was translating the national GBVF response into a provincial plan following an Intergovernmental Relations meeting.

Several police stations recording high volumes of rape have been prioritised for additional support, including Rietgat, Alexandra, Mamelodi, Diepsloot, Ivory Park, Dobsonville, Redhill, Midrand, and Tembisa.

“We are of the view that if we can’t put additional resources in terms of policing, victim empowerment, and all related issues… including dockets in these police stations, we would have failed the call that the President has given us,” Lesufi said.

Municipalities have seven days to begin safety audits focusing on broken streetlights, abandoned buildings, and unsafe transport routes, while an inter-ministerial committee will monitor implementation weekly.

Within 60 days, Gauteng will audit unresolved murders, attempted murders, rapes, and serious sexual offences involving women and children, including forensic backlogs, outstanding arrests and delayed investigations or prosecutions.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has also launched the city’s GBVF response action plan, bringing together municipal police, emergency medical services, health, and building-control officials.

“We will be engaging in several awareness programmes. Our officers will now react better to any calls that are related to GBV and femicide,” Morero said.

KwaZulu-Natal is taking a more community-based approach, with Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli recently appointing 173 GBVF activists to link communities with law enforcement across provincial police stations.

The activists will support survivors, assist with prevention and awareness initiatives, and strengthen reporting and data collection.

“These 173 activists will be the lifeline for victims, a voice for the vulnerable, and a driving force for change in our province,” Ntuli said.

The province has positioned Silwa Nechilo as a 365-day response, with Ntuli calling for stronger coordination between government, law enforcement, traditional leaders, civil society, and communities.

The Western Cape’s response predates the recent Ekurhuleni killings. In his February State of the Province Address, Premier Alan Winde said the province had 860 GBV ambassadors, 21 ambassador programmes, and 27 funded shelters.

Its 2026/27 plan commits to a 365-day response, including prevention initiatives targeting men and boys. Following a recent picket outside the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Sizakhele Dyantyi committed to developing a dedicated police action plan.

“We are going to see as a team and look at the memorandum, every item that has been raised as a concern; thereafter we are going to draft our action plan,” Dyantyi said.

The provincial responses follow Ramaphosa’s September 29 national address, in which he ordered a 60-day audit of unresolved murders, rapes, and serious sexual offences involving women and children. Individual recovery plans for priority and stalled cases must be submitted within 90 days.

“These directives are not just a statement of good intentions. They establish responsibilities, deadlines and a duty to submit reports regularly to the nation,” Ramaphosa said.

He also ordered a funded plan to address forensic backlogs within 60 days and municipal women’s safety audits, with urgent hazards to be addressed or included in funded implementation plans within 90 days.

Recent weeks have been marked by pickets and demonstrations in different parts of the country, as gender-based violence organisations, civil society groups, and other community organisations have called for stronger and more coordinated interventions to address GBVF.