Calling it a “dark and shameful week,” South African president Cyril Ramaphosa denounced the latest surge in violence against women, including the murder of a woman eight months pregnant.

But his remarks ring hollow when a “new government report” released in September also declared gender-based violence a national crisis.

Nomakhosazana Xaba, in her late 20s, says this violence now resembles a country at war against its women.

After the September report, President Ramaphosa announced a five-point plan to tackle violence against women, including media campaigns, strengthening the criminal justice system, and providing training for healthcare workers and counsellors.

Commenting on the recent surge of violence, he blamed the sale of alcohol during lockdown level 3.