In celebration of Women’s Day (Friday 9 August), provincial ministers of Social Development and Health and Wellness, Jaco Londt and Mireille Wenger, visited the two Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) in Stellenbosch and Wynberg on Thursday 8 August.
The ministerial pair was joined by Advocate Bonnie Currie-Gamwo, Special Director of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit.
The Stellenbosch and Wynberg TCCs are among nine centres operating in the Western Cape. A 10th centre will open in Mitchell’s Plain later this month.
“Collective coordinated interventions are needed to address the scourge of gender based violence (GBV),” said Currie-Gamwo. “Public-private partnerships are crucial to ensure the sustainability of TCCs. We want to make TCCs more accessible by having more of these facilities in communities, and for that we need private sector support.”
Londt pointed out that many women still faced battles that hinder their freedom. “When women are abused or experience violence their dignity is taken away and their lives are placed in danger,” he added. “The Western Cape government is fully committed to supporting victims and survivors and to protect their dignity.”
Supporting a TCC is one of the ways the provincial government does this. These centres are one-stop facilities that provide psycho-social, medical, and legal services to victims of GBV. The initiative is driven by the NPA.
The provincial Social Development and Health and Wellness departments provide support for this joint initiative, which involves other stakeholders such as the Justice and Correctional Services departments, police, NGOs such as StellCare, Rape Crisis, Community Cohesion, and the Ring for Peace Cape Trust and the private sector.
“Defeating GBV is not the job of just one department, agency or NGO,” Wenger said.
“It requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach as demonstrated by these incredible TCCs. The coordinated services provided at these centres ensure victims are cared for and improve the ability of law enforcement agencies to bring offenders to justice.”
The visits to the TCCs were a first for both provincial ministers in their new roles. The Stellenbosch TCC, which was officially launched in April, is the first TCC not situated on hospital premises and has emergency overnight facilities on site (“Nuwe sorgsentrum amptelik oop”, Eikestadnuus, 18 April).
Since 2019, more than 21 000 people per year have received psycho-social support from TCCs and social development-supported GBV shelters in the province.
“There are many more women facing abuse daily who do not report it out of fear, or they withdraw a case for the same reason,” Londt said. “I encourage community members to look out for one another and report these cases, but also support survivors.
- “This week we launched a GBV ambassador programme in Grabouw, where more than a dozen residents have volunteered to be our eyes and ears in their communities to help end the scourge of GBV. We need more people to stand up and make a difference, including companies who can take hands with us to expand these support services.” For information on Department of Social Development services, call 0800 220 250, visit your nearest social development office, or visit https://www.westerncape.gov.za/dept/social-development.
