The North West Department of Social Development has ramped up efforts to protect Gender-Based Violence victims, by officially opening a safe house in Rustenburg.
According to the Department, the safe house was donated by mining company Anglo-American in 2021.
Amongst others, the shelter will offer psycho-social support, trauma counselling, court preparation and aftercare services for GBV victims in Rustenburg and surrounding areas.
The department also highlighted that communities of Boitekong, Sunrise Park, Bokamoso, Tlhabane, Lethabong, Chaneng, Kroondal, Marikana, Lefaragatlhe, were identified as GBV hotspots in the Rustenburg Local Municipality.
In an exclusive interview with YOUFM, the provincial MEC for Social Development, Sussana Dantjie, called on those affected by the GBV scourge to make use of the safe house.
“Our intention is that all those who enter our shelter fully understand that we are with them.
It’s our responsibility as government to give them hope that we are with them.
I want to make a call to all our people that experience the same situation to present themselves to the shelter, we are there for them,’’ emphasised Dantjie.
Dantjie also highlighted that the home will be an addition to the two that were built at the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati and Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipalities respectively.
The MEC assured that as part of the department’s targets to have a total of four safe houses in the province, plans are underway to open another one at the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality.
The department has made a clarion call to male counterparts to join hands in the fight against GBV in the North West.
