In a new project launching tomorrow (Friday, 20 May) – Enhancing State Responsiveness to Gender-Based Violence: Paying the True Costs – the National Shelter Movement (NSM) of South Africa joins forces with the Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) Southern Africa to keep the spotlight squarely focused on domestic violence in South Africa (SA) and how government interventions meet the diverse needs of survivors.
Funded by the European Union (EU), this three-year project will research and analyse the need for domestic violence sheltering services in SA, with a specific focus on the factors impacting the rehabilitation of survivors. These findings will be used to engage key decision makers and forge alliances with government, public sector institutions and civil society partners, to further drive the cause for gender equality (through victim empowerment).
Head of the EU Delegation to SA, Ambassador Marcus Cornaro will share the stage at the launch event with key note speaker and Director of the Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP), National Department of Social Development (DSD), Ms. Tsholofelo Moloi to weigh-in on the crucial discussion of state support, shelter accessibility and the (immediate and long-term) value of shelters.
Shelters present an opportunity, not only for protection, but for the chance of a better life for survivors of abuse. The general profile of the average woman accessing shelters for abused women indicates that she has low levels of education, is unemployed and has no access to income. In addition to this, she has multiple health conditions and requires significant practical, medical and legal support. From this, it is clear that shelters need to provide much more than just protection from abuse.
The Domestic Violence Act requires the South African Police Service (SAPS) to assist victims of domestic violence by referring and transferring women (and their children) to shelters. However, funding for these shelters, affects availability and also the services they are able to offer.
An example of a dramatic success story is of a young woman who, after having suffered repeated rapes by a neighbour – which left her traumatised, pregnant and destitute – she was able to overcome her situation through the support of a shelter. Her need for shelter assistance was identified through a partnership initiative between government, a private institution and a civil society organisation in 2012. Even though she dropped out of school after falling pregnant at the age of 17, the shelter provided her with the support she needed in order to complete her studies in social work. She now works as a social worker at the shelter where she stayed and is able to take care of herself and her child. She is also a motivational speaker, sharing her story to encourage others and her impact is evident in a shelter that was opened in her honour. Stories like these present a great case to support the value shelters do bring to survivors of GBV and to society as a whole.
Head of the Executive of the NSM, Zubeda Dangor says that engaging Ms. Moloi is paramount to building relations between civil society and government and she hopes the project strengthens the organisation’s relationship with the DSD. The VEP, primarily led by the DSD, is responsible for shelter services in SA.
The project reflects on the enormous responsibility on national government to provide shelter to victims of abuse and to provide adequate and effective domestic violence survivor support programmes, specifically those associated to the provision of shelter for abused women. According to the VEP, shelter interventions must do more than merely meet the basic needs of women and their children, but must also provide support, counseling and skills development.
EU Project Manager of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Claudia Lopes says, "The EU’s continued support of the work on shelters and of the HBF, and the NSM, is testament to their determination to address gender-based violence in South Africa – a key issue affecting the rights of many women in our country. The presence of the Ambassador of the European Delegation to SA attests to this."
“Enhancing State Responsiveness to Gender-Based Violence: Paying the True Costs will address the need to strengthen policy so that state responses to sheltering services in respect to funding, to inter- and multi-departmental cooperation are improved,” adds Lopes.
The project will also aim to strengthen shelter referral systems and policies so that more survivors of domestic violence can have access to shelters, as well as improve the shelters themselves (through capacity building and training) to enhance their level of service delivery.
Enhancing State Responsiveness to Gender-Based Violence: Paying the True Costs was inspired by the success of an earlier project which focused on shelters for abused women in the Western Cape and Gauteng (funded by the EU and implemented by the HBS and the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre between 2011 – 2013). This research and further engagement between the HBS and the NSM clearly identified the shortfalls in the system and the need for this project.
Shelters in the Western Cape (WC) welcome the project, with Director of St. Anne’s Homes, Joy Lange confirming that the previous EU-funded study on shelters for abused women in the Western Cape was a game changer and significantly contributed to the positive changes in funding and support from the WC DSD for shelters in the Western Cape.
Friday’s launch will introduce the project and its expectations to various stakeholders such as Members of Parliament, Members of the Western Cape legislature, parliamentary researchers, Chapter 9 institutions, various government officials, civil society organisations and academics. The forum will also create a space to discuss how collaboration can be enhanced over the course of the project.
Follow the link below for information about previous shelter studies.
Issued by Natasha Adonis on behalf of Heinrich Böll Foundation. For more information, please contact me on 0797 999 654 or email adonisnatasha@yahoo.co.uk