The Manager of the GBV Command Centre, Nomathemba Malvern, confirms the Pretoria-based call centre has indeed seen a spike in phone calls, but the vast majority of those calls are from citizens seeking information, advice and financial relief in light of the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting lockdown, rather than victims of gender-based violence.  

“The whole of the country is facing quite a difficult period and people are desperate, they want to know how best to continue with their lives” explains Malvern. She assures the public, the call centre employees are trained social workers who will refer and attempt to assist people regarding their queries which often pertain to accessing the Social Relief of Distress Grant from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) or other forms of government relief during this period. 

She does acknowledge that they are receiving a few phone calls related to gender-based violence in light of the lockdown and maintains they are dealing with those accordingly as well. 

In early April, Police Minister, Bheki Cele, announced that there had been about 87 000 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) reported during the first two weeks of lockdown. Cele is yet to confirm the number of arrests made in contrast to cases opened thus far. 

The Director and Chairperson of the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children and the Western Cape Shelter Movement respectively, Bernadine Bachar, echoes Malvern’s assertions, adding they have also not seen the spike they anticipated during the lockdown period in light of worldwide trends. 

Bachar says the lockdown figures need to be analysed to ascertain why gender-based violence groups are not seeing the spike in numbers as reported by the police. 

The GBV Command Centre Emergency number is 0800 428 428. 

OFM News