The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) heads to Sydney Australia this week, to participate in the 5th World Conference of Women’s Shelters (5WCWS) – the world’s largest gathering by and for those working on the frontline to end gender-based violence. Happening for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, the conference runs from 15 to 18 September 2025....
Category: In the News
NEWS | NSMSA Condemns SAPS Withdrawal of GBV Cases: A Deadly Step Backward For Women’s Safety
The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) says that this Women’s Month, it also wants to shine a spotlight on the contemptable ongoing practice by some SAPS officers of encouraging or permitting the withdrawal of gender-based violence (GBV) cases. “This is not a procedural failure – it’s a betrayal of justice,” says the NSMSA. “Pushing survivors to drop charges...Continue reading
NEWS | NSMSA “Deeply Concerned” About SAPS Failure to Protect Woman From One of Their Own
The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) – an umbrella organisation supporting a network of over 100 gender-based violence (GBV) shelters across the country – expresses deep concern and sorrow over the tragic murder-suicide in Soweto involving a senior police officer, who allegedly took the lives of his intimate partner and her brother, before turning the weapon on himself....
NEWS | NSMSA Turns to the Public to Keep Lifesaving GBV Helpline Open
The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) – a national body supporting over 100 shelters that provide refuge for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) – has launched a crowd funding campaign on Back-a-Buddy to keep its National GBV Helpline running. For many women and children trapped in abusive homes, the Helpline is the first life-saving step toward freedom and...
NEWS | South Africa’s Economic Conditions Drive 82.8% of Youth into Intergeneration Sexual Relationships
As youth unemployment reaches an all-time high, at 62.4%, the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) revealed shocking evidence that economic hardship, gender inequality and social media trends are driving blesser/blessee relationships between older men and young women and girls in South Africa. NSMSA National Coordinator, Anisa Moosa, says “Our biggest concern about these blesser/blessee relationships is their contribution...Continue reading
NEWS | “I Walked Out Alive – So Can You”: Young Mother Breaks the Silence on Abuse for Youth Month
This Youth Month, the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) is shining a spotlight on the resilience of young women who are surviving and rising beyond gender-based violence. One such voice is Ayanda Mkhize, a 27-year-old mother who has turned her personal trauma into a mission of awareness and hope. Ayanda, who fell into an abusive relationship in her...Continue reading
NEWS | National Shelter Movement of South Africa Condemns Omotoso Acquittal as a Betrayal of GBV Survivors
The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) is appalled and outraged by the acquittal of Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused on charges of rape, human trafficking, and racketeering. This verdict is not just a failure of the justice system – it is a devastating betrayal of every survivor who has ever come forward seeking justice. A Justice System That...Continue reading
Gauteng’s Underspending on Social Development Stymies Efforts to Stem GBVF: Shelters are in Crisis Amid Unspent R554 Million
7 October 2024: As South Africa braces for the upcoming Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on 30 October, the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) calls for urgent reforms in social care funding, especially in the fight to stem gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). This comes after the Gauteng Department of Social Development returned R554 million in unspent funds...
The National Shelter Movement Comments on Lost Police Dockets
14 August 2024: In the last five years, courts around the country have thrown out cases of gender-based violence and femicide (GBV) due to missing dockets in the hands of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Authorities are yet to identify where the cracks are from reporting stage to dockets being made available to the courts for prosecution. The National...
5WCWS – Save the date
5Th World Conference of Woman’s Shelters Sydney Australia.
