In the spirit of Women’s Month, the City of Ekurhuleni hopes to bring a halt to gender-based violence through a variety of strategies.
“Across the country and in Ekurhuleni, women and other vulnerable members of society have been victims of both gender-based and other forms of violence,” spokesperson for the City Themba Gadebe said in a statement.
According to him, Ekurhuleni hopes to stop the spiralling situation by adding a function to the My Ekurhuleni App, where victims can report cases of abuse.
Until the App is updated, residents in need are urged to call the gender-based violence (GBV) national command centre on 0800 428 428. This is a 24-hour toll-free number. Alternatively, people can send a Please Call Me to *120* 7867# or SMS “help” to 31531.
“When a survivor calls the centre, the caller, with explicit permission, is geographically located. This enables the GBV to determine the caller’s closest resources, such as a social worker, police station, hospital, or safe house,” Gadebe’s statement read.
The City also has social workers based at the customer care centres, who are able to assist victims of abuse.
“They provide counselling where necessary, place survivors in safety shelters, and link them with the police where there is a need to open a case,” Gadebe added.
