The KwaZulu-Natal social development department came under fire this week for failing to adhere to resolutions of a gender-based violence (GBV) summit to establish shelters in each district.
The department said during public hearings hosted by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) in Durban on Thursday that it plans to open its first shelter to accommodate GBV victims in the Zululand region at the beginning of 2025.
The CGE summoned the departments of justice, police, social development and health in KZN to account for systemic failures in responding to GBV cases, in keeping with the National Strategic Plan on GBV and Femicide.
The department confirmed it had 21 shelters across eThekwini and nine districts to assist victims in the province, with an overall capacity to accommodate 269.
However, the commission said none of the shelters was situated in the biggest district in the province, making it the only region without such a facility.
CGE said this contravened resolutions of the second GBVF summit.
Head of department Nelisiwe Vilakazi said it had always been their aim to have at least one shelter in each of the districts and the department had made “significant” strides to establish that facility. A site was identified in Ulundi where eight organisations submitted business plans when a call for proposals was issued.
The appraisal process has been completed and they are in the process of awarding it to the winning proposal.
“With effect from January 1 Zululand will have a shelter. It is a site that was previously with the department of public works which we were able to access. It has been renovated and we have also found a service provider and an NGO that will assist us in running it,” she said.
“We have done all the necessary plans to ensure that it’s functional.”
Vilakazi also confirmed the department was gearing up to launch the first Khuseleka One Stop Centre in the province which offers psychosocial support and trauma counselling to GBV victims.
“We have identified one of our facilities within eThekwini around Oceanview that will be used as a Khuseleka centre because the directive that we had was that each province must have one.”
Radesh Byro, the department of social development's chief director for restorative services, said a Khuseleka crisis centre was different from the Thuthuzela centre in that the latter is managed by the NPA and the victims cannot stay overnight, though there are social workers to offer psychosocial support.
A Khuseleka offers a sheltering component where victims can stay for up to six months with all other sector departments — SAPS, NPA, justice and health operating there or in proximity.
The commission said there were other issues still to be addressed, including insufficient shelters in the King Cetshwayo district and the lack of male accommodation facilities in the province.
There is only one shelter that accommodates male victims in the Umgungundlovu district.
“Aside from this shelter, no data was provided by DSD to suggest that additional shelters in the province accommodate males. This is particularly concerning given KZN's vast size and high statistics for rape, sexual assault and sexual offences which affect all genders, yet only one shelter is available for male victims and/or survivors, with a limited capacity of nine individuals.”
In King Cetshwayo, there is one shelter which can only accommodate 10 people. The commission noted that this was concerning considering that the district was one of the most densely populated in the province and its police stations rank among the country's top 30 for reports of sexual offences, sexual assault and rape.
“Given KZN's status as one of South Africa's largest provinces by population, it is imperative that greater efforts are made and resources are allocated to ensure robust support systems for GBV victims and/or survivors. This includes expanding shelter access and capacity across the province to mitigate GBVF effectively.”
CGE chairperson adv Sepanya Mogale commended some of their intervention programmes for their “innovation”.
“Even the naming of the programmes is very woke: Yolo and Chommy, which is nice because I think sometimes when we use a language that the target group can’t identify with is where we lose each other. They automatically shut down,” she said. She was also impressed with the “economic development angle” that the department has taken.
“Unless we focus on that, we will continue to scratch the surface without any impact.”
The commission will continue with the hearings on Friday when police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi is expected to appear.
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