The Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has received with deep sorrow and grave concern the news of the discovery of the bodies of eight women in Ekurhuleni.

The discovery has understandably sent a wave of anger and fear across the country. Eight women’s lives have been cut short.   Eight precious lives have been violently taken away. These killings violate the sacredness of human life and stand in stark contradiction to the constitutional promise that all people should be able to live in safety and security.

The public response has made one thing clear: we do not regard the killing of women as normal, and we must never allow it to become so.  Our appeal is that our outrage should be accompanied by a difficult question that we must ask ourselves as a society: Why, after years of national outrage over gender-based violence and femicide, do women continue to be assaulted, violated and killed?

As a country, we have held numerous conferences, adopted national strategic plan on gender-based violence and femicide, and have classified Gender-Based Violence and Femicide as a national disaster.   Communities have marched. Civil society organisations have mobilised. Religious leaders have spoken and repeatedly declared that enough is enough. Yet the killings continue.

The discovery of these eight women must compel us to examine where our systems of prevention and protection are failing. We must ask whether reports of missing women are acted upon with sufficient urgency; whether patterns connecting different cases are identified quickly enough; whether the police have the investigative and forensic resources they require; whether perpetrators of violence are effectively brought before the law; and whether communities recognise and respond to warning signs of violence before another woman is killed.  The possibility that some of these deaths may be connected makes these questions particularly urgent.

Our Christian faith teaches us that every human life is sacred and should be protected. “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2258). Violence against women is therefore not only a crime against individuals and society; it is an assault upon the dignity of persons created in the image of God.

We commend the South African Police Service for the seriousness and urgency with which it is now responding to these deaths. The establishment of a specialised multidisciplinary investigation team, the deployment of additional police resources, increased police visibility in affected areas, the pursuit of persons of interest, and the appeal to the public for information are important steps.  We appeal to the police to sustain this level of urgency until the circumstances surrounding every one of these deaths have been established and those responsible have been brought to justice.

We also appeal to anyone who has information that may assist the investigation to come forward, and to families with missing loved ones to contact the relevant authorities.

Our hearts and prayers are with the families whose loved ones have been so tragically taken from them.  In this time of immense sorrow, when our words as human beings cannot take away the pain of such loss, we pray that God may hold these families close, sustain them in their grief, and surround them with the love and compassion of their communities. May they find comfort in God’s tender promise: “As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13).

Contact person:  Bishop Thulani Victor Mbuyisa CMM, the chairperson of SACBC Justice and Peace Commission