Three years ago, a 39-year-old woman called the police for help. The cops arrived, warned her boyfriend not to beat her and left. Then he beat her up.
Today she is one of the survivors of gender-based violence pinning their hopes on the establishment of a dedicated help desk at police stations in 30 GBV hotspots, which is still in the planning phase.
Police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili said the GBV desks had not been established yet, but community service centres were up and running on a 24-hour basis.
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“The SAPS have commissioned its Organisational Development Component to explore the possible architecture of this capacity in line with organisational protocols. It must, however, be noted that these are not priority precincts for the police only, but for the country at large. There is a wrong impression that these priority areas are police priority areas alone.”
Of the GBV hotspots, Delft in the Western Cape, Mamelodi and Tembisa in Gauteng, and Umlazi and Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal rank as the five worst areas.
There is a wrong impression that these priority areas are police priority areas alone.
Delft already has a GBV desk set up for victims as they enter the station, while the other four facilities include special rooms where they are assisted out of sight of the public.
It is here that they are taken to be interviewed, have their statements taken and receive counselling social workers on standby.
From there they are sent for medical care if needed, a medical examination and then to a place of safety.
Last month, police minister Bheki Cele announced the creation of these desks to prevent women from being retraumatised at police stations.
“The dedicated desk will reduce the risk of ill-treatment at the hands of officers, as we have seen in some instances. These permanent desks should not be limited to the hotspot areas only but should be a norm at all stations.”
He was speaking at a briefing where he revealed that only 3% of the (130 of the 4,058 ) cases opened since lockdown in March had ended in convictions.
In the first three months of lockdown, call centres and helplines began reporting an influx of women looking for help as they found themselves confined with their abusers.
The government GBV and femicide command centre alone recorded more than 120,000 victims in that time, according to Rose Gawaya, gender adviser at the Social Policy Network.
By mid-April, in Tshwane alone, the call centre was receiving between 500 and 1,000 calls a day. Vodacom’s support call centres saw a 65% increase in calls “from women and children confined in their homes seeking urgent help” after lockdown began.
Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut believed the large number of cases in the Delft area was also a result of frequent and effective awareness campaigns encouraging victims to come forward rather than suffer in silence.
I’m optimistic as it shows police recognise that they have in the past failed these women.
— Adv Bernadine Bachar
Adv Bernadine Bachar, director at the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children and chairperson for the Western Cape Women’s Shelter Movement, said the dedicated desks were a step in the right direction but for them to work, police needed to be trained to handle GBV cases in a way that did not cause secondary trauma to victims.
“I’m optimistic as it shows police recognise that they have in the past failed these women. But members working the desks must have proper training. History shows us we have all these ideas to help but we fail on the implementation.”
In his September briefing Cele said the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit would be beefed up with more officers to handle caseloads and officers would be undergoing specialised sensitivity training.
1. Delft
2. Mamelodi East
3. Tembisa
4. Umlazi
5. Empangeni
6. Nyanga
7. Inanda
8. Temba
9. Khayelitsha
10. Kwazakhele
11. Alexandra
12. Moroka
13. Mthatha
14. Mfuleni
15. Plessislaer 16.Dobsonville
17. Bloemspruit
18. Diepsloot
19. Mitchells Plain
20. Ikageng
21.Osizweni
22. Kwa Mashu
23. Ntuzuma
24. Kopanong
25. Honeydew
26. Kraaifontein
27. Gugulethu
28. Orange Farm
29. Butterworth
30. Bellville
— TOP 30 GBV HOTSPOTS
He said the FSC had also trained specialist detectives to investigate GBV and a new supplier of rape kits had been appointed so there would be no shortage for the next three years.
Bachar said it was still too early to tell if these implementations were helping.
The Saartjie Baartman Centre and the 90 other registered shelters for abused women and children around the country help women through the legal system by going with them when laying charges or getting restraining orders.
Johannesburg shelter manager Belinda Edwards said women were often too afraid to seek help at police stations and that was why it was so important that all stations had a dedicated GBV desk.
One of the women in the Johannesburg shelter, together with her 15-year-old daughter, have thrived in the two years living at the shelter. She was able to get a qualification in early childhood development and become a preschool teacher.
“My plan was to move out at the beginning of the year to make space for another woman who needs help. But then Covid struck and I found myself without work.”
Another woman living with her came to Johannesburg from Mpumalanga for a job offer but her employer demanded sexual “favours” from her.
“I was desperate to find a place, I was going to end up on the street. The man wanted me to do disgusting things. He had very young girls coming to the house all the time. If I didn’t find shelter here I would have ended up doing the things he wanted me to do so I could survive.”
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