GBV Sheltering

The 2025 National Shelter Indaba featured a significant and impactful session focused on the theme, “Losing Liberty and Life: The Impact of Firearms on Domestic Violence in South Africa.” Participants, including researchers, advocates, and survivors, examined how the increasing prevalence of firearms in South African households poses ongoing risks to women’s safety, writes Precious Mupenzi for DSD news.

Gun violence within abusive relationships is a subject that is all too familiar for anti-violence organisations and activists but seldom gets the public attention that it deserves. In February this year, HBF with its partners, Gun Free SA, MOSAIC & the National Shelter Movement of SA launched a new campaign that aims to strengthen the rights and safety of victims from gun-related domestic violence.

GBV shelters provide more than just a bed to sleep in; for many, shelters are a haven when the next step is death.  This 16 Days of Activism, the Western Cape Women's Shelter Movement, the provincial body of HBF partner the National Shelter Movement, highlight the expanded role of shelters in responding to and disrupting violence against women.

Mandela Month is in full swing, but for the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSM) and other non-profit organisations working in the social care services sector, there is very little Ubuntu coming from the government. This Mandela Day, the NSM calls on South Africans to DONATE just R67 to support 95 GBV shelters around the country.

HBF's new research reveals the Department of Social Development’s dependence on NGO shelters during Covid-19, and their tendency not to provide adequate support and funding despite this reliance, writes the Daily Maverick.

On 2 December 2021, the Heinrich Böll Foundation launched its second research brief associated to its “Care and Support in a Time of Epidemic" research project. The project is dedicated to better understanding how COVID-19, and the subsequent implementation of lockdown in South Africa on 27 March 2020 has impacted on domestic violence in the country.

What was it like to provide shelter to victims of gender-based violence during lockdown? How did shelters cope? How full were they? Who came through to help during this time of crisis? How did government fare in this regard? Join us tomorrow and find out.

Consultant lead researcher for HBF project on impact of lockdown on Domestic Violence recently spoke to Newsroom Afrika about some of the study’s first set of findings.

On Wednesday 18 August, the Heinrich Böll Foundation hosted its first webinar associated to its “Care and Support in a Time of Epidemic” research project. The recording of the discussion can be watched here.

Cape Town - A little more than a month since the launch of the National Shelter Movement of South Africa’s (NSMSA) 24-hour toll-free shelter helpline, the centre has revealed that 776 calls have been fielded.

Our partners at the National Shelter Movement of South Africa have launched their own 24-hour toll-free Shelter Helpline. This is the first national helpline exclusively dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse access shelter services in each of the nine provinces, while also assisting with a variety of other issues that impact survivors. The call centre is based in Cape Town and is currently operated by three social workers. Read the full press release here.

Our partner NSM has recently penned an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for an intervention to urgently address the murderous funding issues with women's shelters.

While South Africans are preparing for lockdown, isolating at home presents additional risks for abused victims, says the National Shelter Movement.