President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation🇿🇦

UPDATE: THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ASKED FOR THE .

Tonight, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on the crisis of gender-based violence and femicide.

So tonight gives us something important: the President has now put a national directive, deadlines and reporting obligations around exactly that kind of accountability.

Among the measures announced was a 60-day audit of unresolved murder and rape cases. 

The audit is expected to establish, among other things:

• How many cases remain unresolved
• How old those cases are
• Which cases are awaiting forensic           evidence
• Which cases have identified suspects who have not been arrested
• Where investigations or prosecutions have been unreasonably delayed

And importantly, government has committed to reporting on progress.

This is the kind of accountability our petition has been calling for.

We have repeatedly asked the question:

How many cases are sitting unresolved, and what is being done to clear the backlog?

We cannot measure progress if we do not know where we are starting from.

We cannot tell the public that the system is improving without being able to see the numbers.

It has been about accountability, evidence and measurable action.

So tonight, we acknowledge this announcement as our first step to Victory. 

And we also say:

Give the public the numbers.

Tell us what the audit finds.

Tell us how many cases are unresolved.

Tell us how many are awaiting DNA or other forensic evidence.

Tell us how many suspects have been identified.

Tell us what happens to those cases over the next 60, 90 and 120 days.

The demand has now entered the government's own stated programme of action. We need to see the numbers move. 

Thank you to everyone who signed this petition, shared it, spoke about it. 

We will be watching.