Social Development
- (a)(i) How many social workers are currently employed by the Department to provide services to victims of gender-based violence (GBV) and (ii) how are they distributed across the province and (b) how many beneficiaries have accessed these services in 2025 to date;
- (a) what measures are in place to ensure the safety and well-being of social workers dealing with GBV cases and (b) how many incidents of threats or violence against social workers have been reported in the past two financial years;
- (a) how does his Department coordinate with the SAPS, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness and the national Department of Justice in managing GBV cases and (b) what formal protocols guide this collaboration;
- a) how many shelters are currently supported by his Department, (b) what is their current occupancy rate and (c) what plans are in place to expand capacity in high-demand areas;
- (a) what key challenges have been identified by social workers in implementing the provincial GBV Strategy and (b) what steps has his Department taken to address these challenges?
- (a)(i) The Western Cape Department of Social Development currently has 28 social workers in dedicated GBV posts.
All DSD offices have also implemented the generic social work model to increase social work capacity across all social welfare services programmes rendered by the Department. This means that 592 social workers are currently at the coalface rendering services (which includes GBV-related services) across the province.
The Western Cape Department of Social Development’s Victim Empowerment Programme also contributes to the funding of 80 social worker posts at funded non-profit organisations (service organisations and shelters).
(ii) The breakdown of the 592 social workers in the DSD offices: West Coast: 47, Cape Winelands/Overberg: 116, Eden Karoo: 90, Metro East: 124 and Metro North: 80 & Metro South 135
The distribution of the 80 NPO posts across the six (6) Regions are:
Region | Number of Social Workers |
Metro South | 15 |
Metro North | 4 |
Metro East | 5 |
Eden Karoo | 11 |
Cape Winelands/Overberg | 11 |
West Coast | 5 |
Across Regions | 29 |
(b) A total of 17485 clients benefitted from the GBV-related support services rendered by Departmental social workers and funded NGOs.
From the Victim Empowerment Programme:
Indicator 1: Shelter Services
(Women and their children experiencing violence and crime)
• 2025/26 F/Y Quarter 1: 538 women and their children accessed shelter services.
• 2025/26 F/Y Quarter 2: 489 women and their children accessed shelter services.
• Total to date (Q1 + Q2): 1 027 women and their children accessed shelter services.
Indicator 2: Psychosocial Support Services (Victims of Gender-Based Violence)
• 2025/26 F/Y Quarter 1: 5 057 victims of GBV and their children accessed psychosocial support services.
• 2025/26 F/Y Quarter 2: 5 476 victims of GBV and their children accessed psychosocial support services.
• Total to date (Q1 + Q2): 10 533 victims of GBV and their children accessed psychosocial support services.
Indicator 3: Psychosocial Support Services (Victims of Violent Crime)
• 2025/26 F/Y Quarter 1: 511 victims of violent crime and their children accessed psychosocial support services.
• 2025/26 F/Y Quarter 2: 540 victims of violent crime and their children accessed psychosocial support services.
• Total to date (Q1 + Q2): 1 051 victims of violent crime and their children accessed psychosocial support services.
- (a) There are mechanisms in place to assist staff who have been traumatised whether by incidents or cases, such as the provision of trauma counselling through our Employee Health and Wellness programme.
(b) Non-GBV related attacks on staff: A total of 54 incidents were reported for the period 1 April 2024 to date. There have been no reported cases of GBV against social workers while they were on duty in this period.
- (a) There are various forums where key stakeholders meet to collaborate and coordinate victims support services.
The Western Cape Department of Social Development is the coordinator and chair of the Western Cape Provincial Victim Empowerment Forum. Forum members are from the Department of Justice (DOJ), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Department of Health and Wellness, Department of Education, Civil Society representing various vulnerable groups, such as Persons with Disabilities and the LGBTIQA+ community, and Academia. The Forum is an excellent platform to coordinate victim support services, address challenges and showcase best practice. The Forum structure is also replicated on regional or local levels.
The Gender Justice Forum is chaired by the Department of Justice and progress on the implementation of the Sexual Offences Act and Domestic Violence Act is discussed.
The Provincial Human Trafficking Task Team and Provincial Rapid Response Team are chaired by the DOJ and the NPA where challenges with regards to Trafficking in Persons are discussed.
Courts also have case flow management meetings where service delivery challenges amongst stakeholders are discusses.
Thuthuzela Care Centre Implementation meetings are held quarterly and chaired by the NPA. Cases and service delivery challenges are discussed on these platforms.
Services Delivery Areas also have local Victim Empowerment forums which are used as a platform to address challenges on a local level.
3) (b) The different areas have developed different referral pathways and procedure to ensure that services are activated, and the referral pathways take into consideration local context and available resources.
4)(a) The Department currently funds 27 shelters.
(b) Shelters make or exceed their quarterly targets. Shelters often exceed their targets because some victims stay for only a short period before relocating to family or other safe accommodation.
Below is a breakdown of the number women and children that have accessed funded shelters for this financial year.
Financial Year | Quarterly Target | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 |
2025/2026 | 413 | 538 | 489 |
(c) In this financial year, the Department expanded the shelter footprint to the Overberg with the funding of 10 additional beds and a 6 bed safe house for men and LGBTIQA+ persons.
5)(a) Key challenges reported include the availability of the South African Police Services (SAPS); treatment of GBV victims at SAPS stations; transport of the victims to a safe space; emergency placement of victims with a disability or elderly victims; application for a protection order after hours, and access to victims in crime hotspot areas.
(b) The Department uses the different forum platforms to advocate SAPS and DOJ to address challenges highlighted. Furthermore, the Department has requested funded GBV shelters to include certain categories of victims with disabilities as well elderly victims that can function independently.
