Debate on 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

Honourable House Chairperson, 

Honourable Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and MECs

Honourable Members of the House, 

Members of the public and the media joining us here today,

Firstly, I want to take a moment to remember all those lives that have been lost as a result of abuse and domestic violence, and all those who continue to suffer in silence. Let us keep these individuals top of mind as public servants striving to make a difference.

As the Western Cape Government we believe in a 365-day approach to addressing Gender-Based Violence in all its forms. This is especially true in the Department of Social Development where social service professionals have dedicated their lives to helping the most vulnerable citizens, which include GBV victims and survivors. 

When I stepped into this office, I made it clear that I want to focus on implementing strategies that will improve the lives of social service professionals, which will ultimately improve the services DSD provides to its clients – many of whom are the most vulnerable in society. 

This Department has not been immune to fiscal constraints that have hampered government’s service delivery progress across the board. These economic pressures have, however, not shaken the Department’s focus on addressing the scourge of Gender-Based Violence, which has been a key focus for DSD over the last few years. 

And in a country where cases of rape and women being killed have increased, this MUST continue to be a focus of every public servant – no matter the sector. First quarter of 2024/2025, the SAPS recorded 9309 rape cases. In the same period in 2023/2024, there were 9252 cases. 895 women were murdered in the first quarter of 2023/2024, in the same period in 2024/2025, that number spiked to 966

We have seen a sustained increase in the number of GBV victims accessing psychosocial support services through Provincial DSD, in partnerships with NGOs and NPOs. In 2020/2021, 17 933 individuals accessed these services, this is a major difference to the 24 564 victims that accessed services in 2023/2024.

The Department maintained funding for 26 GBV shelters across the province, where 2 120 women and their children who were victims of abuse and violence accessed emotional support services such as trauma debriefing and therapeutic counselling, during the 2023/2024 financial year.

The Western Cape was the first province to utilise the six buildings handed over by the Public Works Department between 2019 and 2020, for use as GBV shelters – which are still operational thanks to DSD’s partnerships with various NGOs.

The Department has continued leading the development and actioning of the Provincial Implementation Plan for the GBV National Strategic Plan. This has led to an increased roll-out of GBV services and interventions on the ground. 

Last month we reviewed the province’s GBV strategy by bringing together the different Western Cape Government departments to review the challenges and successes.

I was encouraged to hear from the various departments all the ways they have been implementing the strategy, because DSD cannot effectively address GBV on its own. It requires a whole-of-government approach.

During this review process, the different Departments shared the ways they’ve been implementing the GBV strategy, like the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport’s sexual harassment workshops in the workplace and its After-school programmes for youth empowerment; the Department of Health and Wellness runs sexual reproductive health workshops in high schools and the department has implemented Gender and employment equity forums; the Mobility Department does various awareness campaigns, both internally and in broader communities. 

The Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety has a Court Watching Brief that monitors the efficiency and effectiveness of the South African Police Service. This includes observing police functions at the court, monitoring the cases that are removed from the court roll due to systemic failures and then ensuring those identified failures are reported.

The Western Cape Department of Social Development has implemented its own, besides the funding of GBV shelters. This includes: 

• Frequent GBV awareness workshops and support groups in communities across the province, run by social workers and DSD’s Victim Empowerment Programme, throughout the year.
• A data project to geo-map GBV hotspots across the province is currently underway, for improved service targeting and evidence-based service delivery. This will help to inform the continued implementation of the provincial GBV National Strategic Plan.
• The Department has once again shown why the Western Cape is a groundbreaker with its GBV Ambassador programme. We launched the first model of its kind in South Africa in partnership with the Swartland Municipality in 2022. DSD trains volunteers from the community to assist in raising awareness about GBV support services and empowers them to refer victims to access these services. We’ve successfully implemented this programme in Swartland, Delft, Grabouw, and Heinz Park. Next week, we will launch another one in Ceres, and thereafter in the Cape Metro. We are particularly proud of the Delft programme as it is a perfect example of the efficacy of whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches. This programme started with 25 ambassadors last year, and has expanded to 47 trained volunteers assisting DSD, the SAPS, and NGOs in Delft to better support GBV victims.
• The Department is also a proud partner of the Thuthuzela Care Centres, run by the National Prosecuting Authority. One of the 10 TCCs in the province, the Stellenbosch TCC, is the first in the country where a provincial Department of Social Development funds emergency bed spaces for victims of sexual violence. 

I mentioned at the start we are always looking at ways to improve service delivery, for the benefit of citizens. One of these is the Social Work Integrated Management System Application, or the SWIMS App, which we launched with the Department of the Premier’s Centre for e-Innovation.

• This app addresses the immense administrative burden on social workers who daily have to fill in forms as per the regulatory framework for case management. On the app, they can securely capture forms – virtually anywhere and any time – and complete the necessary “paperwork” for the tracking of interventions to clients.
• The SWIMS App gives social workers more time to spend on therapeutic interventions, which benefits clients, such as GBV victims in need of trauma counseling, greatly. 
• Ask any of the social workers in the Central Karoo who have been using SWIMS while operating from the DSD Mobile Office – another first in South Africa, spearheaded by our Department. They have logged over 220 cases on the SWIMS App since the mobile office was launched in October. The App has enabled them to work in the most rural parts of the province, even where there is limited or no signal, all while being in an office on wheels.
• To date, over 21 000 cases have been logged on the app since it went live in April. And this number keeps climbing daily.

• The App and the mobile office are just two of the practical ways we’ve implemented to improve the lives of our staff and clients. Innovation is one of this province’s strengths, second only to our ability to put citizens first in everything we do.

  We are working to get social workers across the government departments, both local and provincial, as well as the NPO sector to use SWIMS. It is a revolutionary app that can only benefit more social service professionals and those they serve. 

For now, as we enter this period of 16 Days of Activism, let our activism not be limited to our work.

During this period we are calling on people to amplify their voices. Speak out against abuse and domestic violence and speak up for those who cannot do so for themselves. Do this in your workplaces, in your homes, communities, in your group of family and friends. When we speak up, we are sending a message that there is no place in our society for violence or abuse.

By speaking out, we can all play a role in ending the cycle of Gender-Based Violence.

Thank you.