A lack of infrastructure budget to establish facilities that provide safety and support services to victims of crime and violence in some provinces remains among key challenges that hindered the implementation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide.
This came to light during a briefing by the Department of Social Development to the portfolio committee on Wednesday on progress made in implementing the plan.
The National Strategic Plan was adopted in 2020 as a society-wide programme to end gender-based violence and femicide. It is organised around six pillars aimed at prevention of GBV, strengthening the criminal justice response to GBV, and providing support, care and healing to survivors of gender-based violence.
The department noted high cost implications for establishment of shelters or Khuseleka One-Stop Centres and lack of participation of other key role-players to ensure provision of effective specialised services in shelters.
Other challenges included lack of dedicated capacity to address GBV as a pandemic, shortage of social workers required to address social ills, lack of integrated services dealing with GBV between various departments and lack of capacity building in relation to GBV, negatively affecting response services.
The department also noted in terms of the GBV command centre (GBVCC), the service provider initially appointed to host call centre services with inbound-and-outbound call functionality, among others, was not able to perform as per the contract.
Since then the department appointed an interim service provider, Vodacom, to provide call centre services on November 11.
“Vodacom commenced with installation of network and other services at the GBVCC. The department has already planned to re-launch the GBVCC.”
To tackle the challenges, the department said it included enhancing psychosocial support services to combat GBVF through an Integrated Service Delivery Model, focusing on trauma-informed SGBV interventions, reintegration services with economic empowerment, and expanded support in the 30 hot spots. They also introduced appointing GBV-dedicated social workers across provinces, among others.
EFF MP Paulnita Marais said: “We need all the departments to come on board, health, policing, and we need to have one debate on this, to come together to (tackle) this scourge because during the year nothing is said about it but GBV is happening right through the year.
Every day a woman is murdered in her own house, children raped. We need a programme of action so we can see there’s improvement. If we’re saying we’re going to have a war on GBV, what does this war look like and how are we going to implement this war?”
MK MP Rev Nhlanhla Gcwabaza said: “We hope the GBV command centre will work properly and be able to assist women in need of it.”
ANC MP Paulina Makgato asked about alternative partnership and funding models to be explored.
Cape Times