As the country continues to observe Child Protection Week under the theme: "Let us all protect children during Covid-19 and beyond", the Commission for Gender Equality is calling on national government to ensure that Thuthuzela Care Centres and other shelters of safety have sufficient capacity to receive victims of domestic violence and their children.
"In 2020 the Commission released a report on the state of shelters in South Africa. Following the Commission's investigation and hearings, which found that many shelters meant for the safety of Gender Based Violence victims, did not have enough facilities to accommodate abused women and their children," said CGE chairperson Ms. Tamara Mathebula. The CGE's investigations also found that many shelters did not receive sufficient funding from government to cover all their interventions. Ms. Mathebula said this is a concern as abused women need to take their children along when escaping from environments of domestic violence. "While women are main victims of GBV, their children are secondary victims for obvious reasons," Mathebula added.
...