The Department of Social Development in the Free State says there is a shortage of shelters for victims of gender-based violence (GBV) in the province.
GBV | Free State concerned about the shortage of shelters for GBV victims
A social worker manager, Prudence Ramolehe says there are only five shelters that can accommodate victims of abuse for up to six months.
Secondary victimisation
Ramolehe says their safe house can accommodate victims for 72-hours.
“Now with the issue of COVID-19, there’s so much pressure on the shelters to accommodate the people because it has escalated. So we find ourselves in a situation. Sometimes we have to move a person from another district to another one. So that movement is uprooting the victim and is also in a way not good for the victim. Because we have to move from here to there and the children are going to school in this area and now we have to go and look for a school in another area,” says Ramolehe.
She says the moving victims can be considered as victimisation.
“It’s not only about the person – it’s about the person and children and the uprooting which can be secondary victimisation,” says Ramolehe.
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