To the families of all who have lost loved ones,To members of the community,Friends,Fellow South Africans,I greet you today with a heavy heart. I regret that, due to ill health, I cannot be with you in person today. But I have asked that my message be delivered at this memorial so that every family grieving a loved one in these terrible circumstances may know that they do not grieve alone.All the families, all the friends and all the communities who have lost loved ones know that the nation stands with them in their hour of sorrow. We are gathered to remember all the women whose lives were taken with terrible cruelty.They were daughters, mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues and neighbours. They had hopes and dreams. They had plans for their lives. They had families and friends who expected them to return home. Each of them had a name, a story and people who loved her.

Not all the women have been identified. There are still families waiting for answers. There are families who wake each morning not knowing. There are families waiting for a telephone call, for news, for some certainty about what has happened to someone they love.

We honour every one of them today. On behalf of all South Africans, I extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have died.  We mourn with you. Your loss is our loss.

These killings have disturbed our nation and brought fear and uncertainty into our communities. No community should have to live with such fear. No woman should have to wonder whether she will be the next victim. No family should have to endure the anguish that these families are enduring today.

We are therefore determined to act with urgency to solve these killings, to bring those responsible to justice, and to restore calm and security to communities. The South African Police Service, working together with all relevant state bodies, has dedicated personnel and resources to these cases.

I have directed that no stone be left unturned in bringing those responsible to justice. I have directed that we use every means at our disposal, including the latest surveillance technology, to track down the perpetrators and stop these crimes.

Those responsible for these crimes must know that the state will pursue them. They must know that they cannot act with impunity. They will be found, they will be arrested and they will be made to answer for their crimes before a court of law.

But the police cannot do this alone. Our law enforcement agencies need to work in partnership with the citizens of this country.  We call on anyone who may have any information about these incidents to please come forward.

If a relative or friend is missing, if you saw something, please report it. If you heard something, or if you know something that may assist the investigation, however insignificant it may seem, please report it. Information from members of the public can help solve these crimes. It can help bring answers to grieving families. And it can help prevent another woman from becoming a victim.

The violence that has claimed these women does not exist in isolation. It is part of a wider crisis of gender-based violence and femicide that continues to scar our nation.

Gender-based violence confronts us with a painful truth: despite all the progress we have made, too many women in our country continue to live with the threat of violence. We cannot allow ourselves to grow used to it. We cannot treat the killing of women as something that happens elsewhere, to other people.

Behind every statistic is a human life. Behind every name is a family. A mother. A sister. Behind every victim are people whose lives will never be the same again. As a nation, we must stand up for the rights, safety and dignity of women and girls, in our homes, in our streets and in our workplaces.

We all carry this responsibility. It is the responsibility of the state. It is the responsibility of community leaders, of religious leaders, of traditional leaders. It is the responsibility of every teacher, student and learner. It is the responsibility of every man in our country, who refuses to be silent when women are threatened or harmed.

Men must speak out when women are threatened. Men must challenge the attitudes and behaviour that demean women. Men must refuse to protect perpetrators. Men must teach our boys that strength is never measured by the ability to dominate, intimidate or hurt a woman.

We must change the society we live in. Women must not have to think twice before going for a run, walking home or travelling to work. Parents must not need to worry each time a daughter leaves the house. Every woman in South Africa has the right to move freely, to live without fear and to be safe in her own community. We must work together to give meaning to those rights.

Today we grieve together. Tomorrow, and in the days that follow, let us act together to change our society. We must build a country in which women do not have to live in fear. We must regard it as our duty and responsibility to build communities in which those who threaten women find no shelter, no silence and no protection. We will ensure that from this terrible loss comes a renewed determination to protect the lives, dignity and freedom of every woman and girl in South Africa.

May the souls of all the women that we are mourning rest in peace. May their families find comfort and strength.