Women marched against violence in Dunoon, Cape Town, in February. The Commission for Gender Equality has urged the government to convert public buildings into shelters for victims.
- More government buildings should be converted into shelters for victims of gender-based violence, MPs were told on Tuesday.
- The Commission for Gender Equality presented a report to Parliament on its investigation into shelters.
- It found a shortage of shelters, especially in the North West, Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
- The Commission had harsh words for the SA Police Service, which it said had not made sufficient progress with training officers about gender-based violence.
There is an urgent need to convert government buildings into shelters for victims of gender-based violence, MPs were told on Tuesday.
The Commission for Gender Equality, an independent statutory body, was presenting a report on progress made since its 2018/19 investigation into shelters to the Public Works and Infrastructure Portfolio Committee.
The report had harsh words for social development departments in some provinces, where the Commission’s recommendations gain not been followed, and for the SA Police Service (SAPS). The Commission found a shortage of shelters, particularly in the provinces of the North West, Limpopo and Northern Cape.
Namakwa District in the Northern Cape still does not believe any shelter for victims of gender-based violence, the report pointed out, noting a “lack of commitment to providing social support services” equitably in the province.
In the Free State, the provincial department of social development still did not believe a proper funding model for shelters, the Commission said. This showed a “blatant non compliance” with South Africa play a crucial role in ensuring that survivors are protected and that justice is realised,” Dennis Matotoka, acting CEO of the Commission, told MPs.
He said during the investigation the Commission had heard complaints about shortages of beds, a lack of facilities and security. But some progress had been made, he said. The Department of Public Works had identified 54 buildings that could be converted into shelters, including six in the Western Cape and six in Gauteng, and lease agreements for these properties were being finalised.
He pleaded with the Department of Public Works to speed up the process of identifying and handing over buildings. “Our concern is that there is a behind pace of issuing those unused buildings for shelters, especially in a country where GBV is the pandemic that we are experiencing on a daily basis. We are requesting that the committee expedite this process. It requires a concerted effort from every of us.”
Committee seat Nolitha Ntobongwana (ANC) said the departments of Public Works and of Social Development needed to coordinate better. “There are properties that are abandoned and now used by criminals. It would be proper if those properties would be donated to Social Development,” she said.
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