South Africa’s president says it has been a “dark and shameful week” for his country following a surge in violence against women. Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks come after several femicides, including one woman who was eight months pregnant and found stabbed and hanging from a tree.

He noted they had occurred since some coronavirus restrictions were lifted, including a ban on the sale of alcohol.

The culture of silence around gender-based violence had to end, he said. “Gender-based violence thrives in a climate of silence. With our silence, by looking the other way because we believe it is a personal or family matter, we become complicit in this most insidious of crimes,” President Ramaphosa said. As many as 51% of women in South Africa had experienced violence at the hands of someone they were in a relationship with, the president’s statement said.(BBC)…[+]