President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced what he called a multidisciplinary, national-level emergency response to the killings, for which four arrests have been made. The deaths have sparked a national outcry about the scale of violence against women in South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world.
In an address to the nation, Ramaphosa said gender-based violence "cannot be accepted as a normal part of life in South Africa" and admitted the country has "not done enough" to protect women and girls.
He acknowledged public concern that the locations of the bodies could suggest a single killer, saying: "There has understandably been widespread fear that the discovery of these women in close proximity could indicate the work of a single perpetrator." However, he noted that "at present, the police have not found evidence establishing that these killings were committed by a single perpetrator."
Ramaphosa announced that every municipality must begin a women's safety audit without delay, with high-risk areas to be identified and addressed. The audits must identify broken streetlights, overgrown public spaces, abandoned buildings, unsafe transport routes and facilities, and poorly secured parks.
He also announced an "enforcement package" to reduce alcohol-related violence.
"Alcohol does not cause gender-based violence and it can never excuse it. Responsibility always lies with the perpetrator," Ramaphosa said. "But harmful alcohol use is a significant aggravating factor in interpersonal violence, and it must be addressed as part of our wider prevention effort."