Two new safe houses for battered women

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The Western Cape Department of Social Development opened two new safe houses for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in the Garden Route on Friday 27 August.

This follows after the announcement by the national Minister of Public Works last year, that six national government-owned properties in the Western Cape would be made available as safe havens for women and children.

The shelters, Protea House for Women and Peonies House for Women, are the fifth and sixth opened in the space of a year by the provincial Department of Social Development (DSD) and its non-profit organisation (NPO) partners for victims of gender-based violence in the Western Cape.

Provincial Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, says the safe houses come at a critical time for gender-based violence survivors.

"We need a whole-of-society approach to support us, as we strive for gender equality and the elimination of gender-based violence. We must all commit to playing a role in eliminating the social injustices women experience daily because of actions by men. In the Western Cape alone, 1 724 cases of sexual violence were reported between April 2021 and June 2022," she said.

The provincial DSD has partnered with Mosaic Training Service and Healing Centre to combat abuse and gender-based violence. Mosaic will lead the charge in rendering emergency shelter accommodation to victims of crime and violence and their children in the Garden Route and surrounding regions.

The criteria to be admitted to both safe houses

Victims of intimate partner violence
Victims of domestic violence
Victims of sexual and physical assault
All denominations, races and cultures

"Every woman or child violated is one too many. By working together, we can have #Onevoice united against gender-based violence, 365 days of the year," said Fernandez.

Provincial Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, at one of the safe houses.