The latest first-quarter crime statistics, recently released by the South African Police Service (SAPS), paint a devastating picture of the gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) national disaster in South Africa. “These terrifying statistics underscore the urgent need to strengthen the country’s already overstretched network of shelters for women and safe spaces for survivors and reinforce exactly why the upcoming 6th Annual National GBV Shelter Indaba (from 15-17 September 2026) is so critical,” says the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA). It is against this backdrop that civil society organisations, activists and shelter teams will gather from 15–17 September 2026 for the 6th Annual GBV Shelter Indaba.
According to SAPS, between April and June 2026, 569 women were murdered and 9 201 rapes were officially reported across the country. However, the scale of reported sexual violence is likely to be considerably higher, given the extent of under-reporting and the barriers many survivors face in reporting abuse. The statistics also expose the extent to which violence is occurring in places where people should feel safest. Of 6 596 rape cases sampled by police, 4 121 occurred at a residence – more than 60% of the sample. For women and children trying to escape violence within their own homes, access to a functioning shelter can quite literally be their only lifeline.
“While these statistics are reported in numbers, it is important to remember that these numbers represent people who have been affected by violence. And just from the few statistics highlighted above, we must recognise that this violence affects whole families and even communities, all of whom have been failed by the system. Therefore, from the perspective of an organisation that supports over 100 shelters for GBV survivors, South Africa cannot claim to be serious about ending GBVF while the very institutions responsible for providing immediate protection and support are struggling to survive. Behind every number is a woman or child who may need emergency accommodation, counselling, legal assistance, protection and a pathway towards rebuilding their life,” says the NSMSA.
The organisation says, “The crisis facing the country’s shelters that provide GBV victim-support is therefore not separate from the broader GBVF crisis – it is part of it. Across the sector, shelters are facing severe backlogs in state subsidies, inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of specialised psychosocial and other support services. These pressures affect their ability to provide consistent, quality services and, in some cases, mean that women and children in desperate need of emergency accommodation cannot be accommodated.”
Building a Stronger Safety Net for GBV Survivors
Supported by the Department of Social Development and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, the Indaba will bring together stakeholders from across the victim-support and care sector, government departments and corporate partners to confront the systemic challenges facing shelters and safe spaces for women and other victims of GBV across South Africa. The NSMSA is calling for the Provincial Departments of Social Development and Treasury structures to formalise and expedite baseline funding for safe houses and shelters, providing the financial certainty required for operational continuity.
At the heart of the gathering will be a demand for a more sustainable and properly resourced shelter system. According to NSMSA, “We need government to move beyond short-term responses and recognise shelters as an essential part of South Africa’s GBVF response infrastructure. That means guaranteed, ring-fenced funding that allows shelters to keep their doors open, retain skilled staff and provide survivors with the quality of care they deserve. The Indaba will therefore also push for greater investment in on-site trauma counselling, child support and legal capacity, ensuring that shelters are equipped not simply to provide a bed for the night, but to support survivors through the longer and often difficult process of recovery and rebuilding.”
Addressing Root Causes: Healing The Colonial Wound
Beyond focussing on the immediate crisis, a pivotal programme item at this year’s gathering will explore “Healing the Colonial Wound” – examining how South Africa’s current GBVF epidemic is connected to historical and generational trauma. The intersection of colonial dispossession, apartheid’s migrant labour system and institutionalised violence systematically disrupted family and community structures and entrenched patterns of violence, with the effects continuing till today.
“For the shelter sector, this history matters because survivors do not arrive at shelters carrying only the trauma of an individual incident. They may also carry the effects of intergenerational violence, poverty, displacement, inequality and fractured support systems. We cannot sustainably fund shelters without understanding the historical weight of the trauma walking through our doors. Healing the colonial wound means moving beyond temporary emergency relief. We are demanding investment in deep, structural psychosocial rehabilitation that restores human dignity and addresses the generational drivers of violence in our society,” says NSMSA.
The Indaba will therefore also consider the need for programmes that seek to address perpetrators, with a focus on community-level violence prevention and longer-term reform and reintegration structures as part of a more comprehensive response to GBVF. According to the NSMSA, “We cannot build a sustainable response to GBVF if we only intervene after violence has occurred. Survivor support and prevention, including perpetrator intervention and community healing, must form part of the same continuum.”
The message is clear: South Africa’s shelters cannot be expected to carry the weight of the country’s GBVF crisis without the funding, infrastructure, specialist services and institutional support required to do the job. The 6th Annual GBV Shelter Indaba is therefore not simply a sector gathering – it is a call for a stronger national safety net for women and children, and for a response to GBVF that addresses both the immediate need for protection and the deeper roots of violence. The safety net for South Africa’s women and children cannot be allowed to collapse. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook.
Do You or Someone You Know Need Help?
National GBV Shelter Helpline – Toll-free, 24/7: 0800 001 005
SMS / WhatsApp / Please Call Me: 082 057 8600 | 082 058 2215 | 072 230 7147
Email: infohelpline@nationalsm.org.za
To support the National Shelter Helpline, please visit: A United Voice Against GBVF | Back-a-Buddy.
And for more information, follow the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) on Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
