Deaths of nine women in South Africa could be 'linked to serial killer', police say

[IwantToRetire]

The bodies of nine women have been found in South Africa in just two months - sparking a major police investigation into whether the deaths are linked.

The discoveries, all in an area north of Johannesburg, have sent shock waves through the country, and highlighted the high rate of femicide in South Africa.

All of the victims have been women aged between 20 and 38 and were found either naked or partially clothed with bruises on their bodies, South African Police Service (SAPS) said.

Police previously said some similarities in the killings of the first eight victims were "sufficiently concerning for the police to issue a public warning".

Full article https://news.sky.com/story/deaths-of-nine-women-in-south-africa-could-be-linked-to-serial-killer-police-say-13588850

I know that SA has one of the highest rates of femicide but this is just terrible.

Can only offer thoughts and sympathies from afar.

Stop shrinking women’s maps in the name of safety

A woman is murdered and almost immediately the warning arrives: Do not walk alone. Do not run alone. Do not go out at night. Do not wear headphones. Do not trust strangers. Share your location. Carry something for protection. Tell someone where you are going. Make sure someone knows when you get home

When women are murdered, our first response should not be to draw smaller maps for women to live within. It should be to confront the people and systems that make their deaths possible.

There is something deeply unsettling about the way we talk to women after another woman is killed.

A woman is murdered and almost immediately the warning arrives: Do not walk alone. Do not run alone. Do not go out at night. Do not wear headphones. Do not trust strangers. Share your location. Carry something for protection. Tell someone where you are going. Make sure someone knows when you get home.

The advice usually comes from a place of love. It is fear speaking through mothers, sisters, friends and strangers who desperately do not want another woman to disappear.

But every time another woman is killed, we seem to draw another line on the map of where women are allowed to go.

This street is unsafe. That park is unsafe. That time of night is unsafe. Do not go there alone. Do not run by yourself.

Little by little, the map becomes smaller.

And then we call it safety.

That is the uncomfortable conversation South Africa needs to have ...

article continues at https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/2026-09-16-stop-shrinking-women-s-maps-in-the-name-of-safety/

There have been hundreds of cases of so-called 'corrective rape' [that term is no longer acceptable, 'homophobic rape' is preferred, but that misses the point about the ID of the victims, and the intention of the rapists]
where gangs of men rape lesbians to 'correct' their sexual 'deviancy'.

In some cases, the rape has ended in murder - some of the most notorious cases were women who were lesbian activists, human rights campaigners, or in the case of Eudy Simelane, an openly lesbian member of the national football team, which suggests that they were considered 'beyond redemption' and so rape was not going to 'cure' them, they had to be murdered as well.

So far there's no clear link between these nine women. There's no shortage of misogynistic murderers around, so there might be more than one killer involved. Or it may be a targeted campaign.

RIP to them, and strength and courage to the women in their families and communities.

Those poor women. And their poor families.
And yes, it's always the women who have to adjust their behaviour, not the men.

for the trauma women in Africa have endured, if I was Elon musk wealthy, I’d buy a country and have it women only for those who’d want to live there and never see a man again.

So far there's no clear link between these nine women. There's no shortage of misogynistic murderers around, so there might be more than one killer involved. Or it may be a targeted campaign.

Or even a copy cat.

The rates for femicide are if not the highest one of the highest in the world.

But, partly because the media has picked up on this, the number in one area is frightening.

That's partly why I added the link to the second article.

I'm afraid I'm only surprised this made the news. SA is appalling on women's safety, rape, and murder.

I suspect as you referenced up thread, the majority of deaths are within or around the home.

And think the media has only bothered to report it as it appears, though no proof it is, that someone has been killing women in the same small area.

As though somehow the death by a partner or someone known to a woman isn't as important / news worthing as what could be women being killed by someone unknown to them.

Somebody once said - can't remember where I read it, sorry - that if a man regularly did the things [many] women do because of male violence:
not going out alone at night, crossing the street if there's a man behind you, going the long way round because the lighting is better, carrying something that can be used as a defensive weapon at all times, letting somebody know where you are and where you are going, checking your car hasn't been interfered with, checking there's nobody hiding in the back when you get in...
he'd be diagnosed as having a mental illness like paranoia.

Recently a friend told me she checks in hotels for hidden cameras in the hotels or air b&bs she stays at, in the bathrooms. She said she knew someone who was filmed and she’s now extra vigilant. The world is just full of entitled dangerous perverts.

He would, wouldn't he?
I'm always glad that we have dogs who bark like crazy at strangers, and who keep tabs on any new and novel guests or workmen, and who monitor who goes past the gate, and when DH is away I appreciate their Domestic Security roles even more.

Technological innovation, isn't it wonderful!😒
Obviously the thing I read was ages ago, before the hidden camera became something else to be concerned about!

Isn't it interesting that almost every technological advance you can think of has been in some way used to the detriment of women?

The internet was supposed to be a wonderful Global Village where nation would speak unto nation and neighbour to neighbour and we'd all learn about humanity and how to understand and love each other and Teach The World To Sing, In Perfect Harmoneeeee and all that..

That worked out well, didn't it?🙁

569 women killed in three months as eight-woman mystery deepens
https://sundaytribune.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-09-17-569-women-killed-in-three-months-as-ekurhulenis-eight-woman-mystery-deepens/

Amnesty International South Africa is urgently calling on the State to recognise femicide as a distinct crime
https://www.polity.org.za/article/amnesty-international-demands-sa-criminalise-femicide-to-expose-hidden-crisis-2026-09-18

Their blood is on your hands, Mr President. So stop the speeches. Stop the performances. Stop asking women to be patient while we are being buried. Tell us what has been done.
https://womenforchange.co.za/magazine/open-letter-to-president-ramaphosa/

(seems a really needed support for women in SA, who might appreciate a little gardening) https://womenforchange.co.za/