Civil society organizations in South Africa successfully pilot innovative response to gender-based violence | An observer’s perspective

ByMarinda Weideman

Civil society organizations in South Africa successfully pilot innovative response to gender-based violence | An observer’s perspective

(Note: the information included in this article was obtained from internal project documents, progress reports, interviews with key members of staff, and three focus groups respectively with Rapid Response Team members, government representatives, and external stakeholders conducted as part of a monitoring exercise undertaken by the author.)

In 2021, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa decried “the dramatic increase” in cases of violence against women and vowed urgent action. On 31 January 2022, Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly newsletter that despite continued high rates of violence against women and children, significant progress has been made toward addressing the matter. This includes three new pieces of legislation to strengthen the criminal justice system and put support for survivors at the center of all South Africa’s efforts. Furthermore, more sexual offences courts have been opened and South Africa is making significant progress implementing the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. It is with regard to the latter that civil society organizations are making an important contribution.

In July 2020, We Will Speak Out South Africa (WWSOSA) in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Network on Violence Against Women (KZNVAW) obtained a grant from Canada’s Women’s Voice and Leadership Program for a project titled ‘Strengthening the Civil Society sector for continuity of care and holistic prevention towards violence free zones in communities’ in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

WWSOSA is a coalition of more than 200 individuals and non-governmental, community, and faith-based organizations established in 2013. WWSOSA works with progressive elements in the faith sector to conscientize and equip faith leaders to provide appropriate support to survivors of SGBF. KZNVAW has a 20-year history of feminist organizing; supporting survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and running prevention programs in local communities.

WWSOSA conducted research that showed that a whole community, multi-stakeholder approach is necessary to prevent (or reduce the prevalence of) SGBVF; that there is a need for the coordination of the many actors working in the sector because sporadic, duplicate, and isolated efforts are not effective and can lead to secondary victimization of survivors; and that the provincial government was not using available data to promote collaborative prevention or response mechanisms.

The project, therefore, sought to reduce SGBVF and to improve the support offered to survivors by:

  • Strengthening civil society and existing networks on multiple levels and with a variety of stakeholders, including a provincial WhatsApp network for “on-the-spot collaborative case responses”.
  • Creating a cloud-based Information Management System that includes a database of service providers and heatmaps indicating areas of high prevalence to inform action and monitor change.
  • Capacitation, following a skills audit, of organizations on the database to improve SGBF-related service delivery.
  • Establishing Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) “to build an effective locally-rooted response between government, service providers and the community to improve service delivery and reduce incidents of secondary victimization”.
  • Establishing violence-free zones using a community mobilization prevention model for addressing gender-based violence (GBV) at local level. Violence “hotspots” are identified using data collected by the RRTs. Community dialogues take place and ‘community engagers’ are recruited. These engagers undertake safety audits, participate in the establishment of the violence-free zones (i.e., community clean-ups), assist in branding the areas as violence-free zones (i.e., creating signage at entry points and on taxis) and conduct door-to-door campaigns to promote residents’ participation.

Three quarters through the two-year grant, and despite many contextual setbacks including COVID-19, political violence in 2021, and devastating floods in 2022, most of the project’s objectives have been achieved.

This article focuses only on the successes of the four Rapid Response Teams operational in the Umlazi, Wentworth, Inanda, and Durban Central areas of KwaZulu-Natal.

These teams (whose members include survivors) work as first responders in cases of SGBV: assisting survivors throughout the process (i.e., extraction from dangerous situation; referrals and transport to the various providers of care and criminal justice services; ongoing psychosocial support; and information sharing).

By the end of the first year (December 2021), the RRTs had supported 1,542 survivors and their families.

During the focus group discussions, leaders of LGBTQIA+ organizations, educators, social workers, police officers, staff from Thuthuzela Care Centers, members of youth organizations, and SGBV survivors all gave examples of how the work of the RRTs had brought about positive change. They spoke about recognition, inclusion, increased rates of reporting of SGBV incidents, behavior change among perpetrators, increased understanding within broader communities and community leaders of what unacceptable behavior is, improved service delivery and support from service providers, improvements in the referral process, and a reduction in the incidents of secondary traumatization.

“I was also a victim, and I took the case to court. I had to walk to court every time and I did not have help. Now, with the RRTs this has changed. They take people to court and to shelters. They make sure there is transport and that victims know where to go”.

“We have seen how women, after attending the information sessions, not only leave the perpetrators but increase their financial independence. These women also started supporting each other, working together, established support groups, gained self-confidence, and started speaking in public or volunteering for leadership positions.

“We see women questioning patriarchy and abuse. {Before] Many women accepted abuse because they thought abuse was normal and did not know help was available. Now they know how to report and follow the process from there”

The RRTs have been so effective in creating a locally rooted, multi-sectoral response to GBV that local, provincial, and national government departments have approached WWSOSA and KZNVAW to offer their support for the project. These include the national Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), the provincial Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal, and the local government of eThekwini.

The RRTs have the potential to contribute to the improved care and support for survivors of GBV on a national scale because of their contribution towards the implementation of South Africa’s National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (NSP). This project has by default become the first pilot project for the implementation of the Rapid Response Teams called for in the NSP. The lessons learned during the pilot can be applied as the RRT model is replicated in other provinces. It is in this regard that the Director of the DWYPD referred to the establishment of the RRTs as a “trailblazing achievement”.

An important question is, what happens next?

WWSOSA and KZNVAW are ready to scale the RRTs and for this, they have secured the support of the government departments mentioned, as well as from a vast range of other local, national, and international stakeholders (including networks of SGBV survivors). A Director at the DWYPD, for example, stated that both the national and provincial departments would like to see more RRTs established. However, the Canadian funding comes to an end in December 2022 and the supportive government departments do not have the budgets to financially support the continuation or scaling of the project. Without additional funding, there is a danger that this successful intervention will come to an untimely end, thereby also forfeiting the positive impact it could have for survivors of SGBV on a national scale.

“It will be difficult to sustain the RRTs when the funding ends. It would be a shame too, because we have improved so much, and we are working so well. We just need another two years of funding and work, then this will work well enough for government to take it over”.“If the funding stops, the project stops, and that can cause more trauma for the victims. That is something that really worries me. What happens to them when the project ends? Even the WhatsApp group will shut down without money.”