JOHANNESBURG - South Africans are questioning why women's routine have to change to avoid being attacked.
This comes as the issue of gender-based-violence (GBV) has been brought to the fore by the discovery of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo's body and seven other women in Ekurhuleni.
Scores have taken to social media to express their frustration, with many questionings why the responsibility for preventing violence continues to be placed on women.
Among those was UN Women South Africa who said women should never have to alter how they live, work, or move because of fear.
That responsibility, it said, belongs to institutions and to society
Another user said no amount of advice prepares one for a killer who’s already decided that a person’s life ends today.
"Stop telling women how to stay alive... Safety tips don’t stop predators," the user wrote.
Another user echoed these sentiments and said, "You cannot sustainably prevent femicide by teaching women enough safety techniques. You also have to reduce the number of people willing to commit violence against women and this can be done by improving policing of gender-based violence."
One user raised concerns of the implications when one acts when faced with crime.
“Whenever women are told to take reasonable precautions for their own safety, the response is often, “But killing is a crime!” Of course it is. The fact that a crime is illegal doesn’t make you invincible. Personal safety & criminal responsibility are two different conversations.”
Another user described the fear as something that follows women everywhere.
“Every time I walk out of my door, I know I’m not safe. I don’t feel safe in the car, at the mall, at the gym, I don’t even let myself walk to a store 200 meters away. The women in South Africa live in fear every single day.”
With the conversation stretching further to public safety messaging, social activist and author Jackie Phamotse said as the number of bodies of women continues to rise, the public discourse remains misdirected.
“Warnings are consistently issued to women regarding how to avoid abuse and murder, yet there is a conspicuous absence of accountability directed at men as the primary perpetrators of this violence. The burden of safety is unjustly placed on potential victims rather than addressing the source of the violence itself,”