Shelters demand funding as GBVF crisis deepens

Shelters face delayed state subsidies, inadequate buildings and shortages of psychosocial services for women and children who've escaped abuse. South Africa cannot claim to be tackling gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) while shelters that offer women and children an escape from abuse struggle to keep their doors open, the National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) has warned. The warning emerged from the sixth National Shelter Indaba, which brought government, shelter workers, civil-society organisations and funders together in Gauteng, from 15 to 17 September, under the theme Social Integration of GBVF Interventions. A safety net under strain The indaba comes after the South African Police Service (Saps) recorded 569 murders of women and 9 201 reported rapes between April and June 2026. Of the 6 596 rape cases sampled by police, 4 121 happened at a residence – a stark indication that violence often occurs in homes rather than public spaces. For a survivor fleeing danger at home, a shelter can mean far more than temporary accommodation. It can provide immediate safety, counselling, legal support and help to rebuild a life. But the NSMSA said shelters face delayed state subsidies, inadequate buildings and shortages of specialised psychosocial services. “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,” the organisation said. It added that these pressures can leave women and children needing emergency accommodation without a place to go. Call for dependable support The NSMSA has called on provincial social development departments and National Treasury structures to formalise and speed up baseline funding for shelters and safe houses. It argued that funding should be ring-fenced, meaning it is protected for shelter services rather than treated as a short-term or uncertain expense. “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 NSMSA said. Social Development Minister Dina Pule said the department worked with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to support 134 operational shelters. She said the department also bought nine vehicles for trafficking-in-persons shelters through the Criminal Asset Recovery Account, while establishing four Khuseleka one-stop centres in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Survivors at the centre Pule said social integration required more than policy language and meetings; it required decisions shaped by survivors’ needs. “Social integration is not an abstract concept. It demands concrete action. Survivors must be at the centre of policy, services, and resource decisions. Their voices must guide our actions,” she said. She also paid tribute to shelter workers: “To every shelter manager, social worker, counsellor, and support staff member represented here: I salute you. Your work is the frontline of our national response.” The indaba also considered longer-term prevention, including community healing and interventions for perpetrators. The NSMSA argued that survivor support and prevention must work together, because a response that begins only after violence has occurred will not stop the cycle. How would you sharpen this further: by leading with the funding failures facing shelters, or with the scale of violence that makes those shelters essential?