Opening reporting channels in schools
The team aims to take GBVF-related reports through formal school reporting mechanisms from zero to 5 000 in participating schools by Day 100. Their target is for 90% of referred cases to access support. School sessions explain what GBV is, what statutory rape means under South African law and how learners can report abuse safely. The team is working with the Department of Education and will train school-based first responders on 5 October. In the longer term, they want to involve parents as well as learners.
Every survivor referred, every referral followed through
The team’s target is for 1 000 survivors to receive support services through the local referral network within the 100 days. They have committed to documented referrals for 100% of survivors identified through the project, with at least 80% accessing two or more services. The municipality’s GBV hub gives survivors a safe, welcoming place to seek help. Social workers can also use the hub for therapy sessions with survivors.
Safer hotspots
In 30 identified hotspot areas, the team aims to cut reported safety concerns from 100 to 15. Their goal is greater safety for women, girls and other vulnerable community members, delivered through community-led safety partnerships and interventions shaped by survivors. Municipal law enforcement officers already join the team on community walkabouts that focus on street safety and homelessness, and law enforcement is now more visible on those walkabouts.
Skills that lead to income
At least 30 survivors and vulnerable women will gain accredited or marketable skills. The team aims to link at least 15 of them to jobs, internships, entrepreneurship or other ways to earn an income by Day 100. They are working with a local radio station and Work 4 a Living. Participants include soup kitchen cooks and women living in a local shelter. Workshops cover financial literacy, tax, UIF, job readiness, CV writing, interview preparation and practical skills.
A faster, connected response system
The team is setting up a multi-sector stakeholder forum with at least 20 active partner organisations. With the forum in place, they aim to cut referral turnaround times from five days to two. A recent stakeholder meeting went well, and the team has planned a follow-up workshop. They are also working to bring the Department of Justice and the South African Police Service more fully into the process.
With seven goals running at once, Drakenstein’s team is building a response where schools, shelters, streets and service providers all work from the same map.
Drakenstein Municipality