Shelters Housing Women Who have Experienced Abuse: Policy, Funding and Practice [Gauteng]

In their ‘Enhancing State Response to Gender Based Violence’ project, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, seek to promote more just outcomes for survivors of rape and domestic violence through enhancing the capacity of civil society to hold the state accountable for delivering services to women at the forefront of rights abuses.

“Shelters housing women who have experienced abuse” is the first of a series of shadow reports that the Strengthening States Responsiveness to GBV project undertakes.

The Minimum Standards on Shelters for Abused Women recognizes that “shelters represent an absolutely critical point of crisis intervention” and places a duty on the Department of Social Development to ensure that shelter interventions are able to meet basic needs and provide support, counselling and skills development to women. In order to deliver quality services however, shelters must have adequate resources.

The shadow report assesses the provision and funding of shelters by the state while considering whether shelters have sufficient resources to meet the legitimate needs of women and children seeking refuge from domestic violence in the home.