South Africa to clean up high-risk areas after 12 women killed

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced a clean-up of high-risk areas across the country, after the bodies of 12 women were discovered in an area east of Johannesburg in just two months.

The deaths sparked a national outcry about the scale of violence against women in South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world.

Ramaphosa announced what he called a multidisciplinary, national-level emergency response to the murders, for which there have been four arrests.

He said gender-based violence "cannot be accepted as a normal part of life in South Africa" and admitted the country has "not done enough" to protect women and girls.

"There has understandably been widespread fear that the discovery of these women in close proximity could indicate the work of a single perpetrator," Ramaphosa said in an address to the nation.

"At present, the police have not found evidence establishing that these killings were committed by a single perpetrator."

Admitting the government has not done enough in recent years to prevent gender-based violence, he announced a new wave of measures to help protect women and girls.

"Every municipality must begin a women's safety audit without delay," he said. "High-risk areas must be identified" and addressed.