“I feel relieved that I walked away. There are times when I get overwhelmed with everything. But then I must remind myself that I am strong.”
This is how a Cape Town woman, a gender-based violence (GBV) survivor, describes her ordeal.
The woman, who cannot be named for her safety, explains that she was in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship for two years. She explains that matters took a turn for the worse in September this year.
“My partner was accusing me of cheating and things got physical. I confided to a friend and she gave me the number for a shelter. That was the day I decided to leave. I made the call to the shelter and spoke to Joy Lange of St Anne’s Home.”
The woman says she is now focussing on her journey to recovery at the home.
The Woodstock-based organisation provides a safe space for women and children who are GBV survivors.
With the curtain coming down on the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign on Saturday 10 December, the woman encourages other women, who are in similar situations, to seek help.
“They should leave. It’s not easy, but don’t ignore the red flags, don’t try and sugar-coat anything. The person will show you who they are and we tend to make excuses. Just leave! We are strong.”
She explains that the shelter has become a haven for her.
“For me, St Anne’s Home is a home. It is something that I never had. It is a place where I can reflect on the things that I have been through. The house mothers are there for us and they give us that support that we need.”
But she and several other women will have to find alternative accommodation soon as the shelter faces closure due to lack of funding.
Joy Lange, Executive Director of the home, says they have 21-bed spaces. They currently provide shelter to 14 clients.
She explains that they assist the clients with counselling, psycho-social support, economic empowerment and help them with finding employment.
Lange explains that the shelter is subsidised by the provincial government but they have not received an increase in more than two years.
“For the past three years, we have not received an increase. The contribution that we receive is less than 30%. Funders are not able to give the way they used to pre-covid. We are facing closure because we just don’t have that regular income stream.”
Lange says their monthly expenses range between R200 000 and R300 000.
“Government only funds us to house women for three months, but we often extend their stay for longer and then we cover the other months. We assist them to find employment, if they are successful, they can make an application to move to one of the other houses. That serves as transitional housing – they pay a reduced rent rate and can stay here for six to 12 months,” explains Lange.
She says if the shelter closes down, they will not be able to take in more women.
“We accept any financial contributions to pay salaries for the 15 staff members. If you are able to give R50 a month that is a contribution that will assist us.”
She says while they have several sustainability programmes, it’s not enough to keep them afloat.
Lange says any second-hand goods can be dropped at the facility, which will be resold in their shop.
The victim empowerment programme (VEP) of the department of social development currently funds 26 shelters in the Western Cape.
The VEP seeks to assist and offer support services to victims of abuse and violence.
“In the 2021/2022 financial year, more than 21 000 GBV victims accessed psychosocial support through this programme, much more than we’d originally targeted,” says Monique Mortlock-Malgas, media liaison officer for the Western Cape social development department.
She says the VEP transfer budget for the 2022/2023 financial year is R62 866 000, of which 52% is spent on shelter services.
Mortlock-Malgas says, the department allocated R1 250 224 to St Anne’s during the 2021/’22 financial year. She says the costs for services are standardised across shelters. These are linked to how many people are housed in the shelters as well as which services they offer. The Department has a three-year funding cycle.
“NGOs are invited to submit proposals which include business plans, service and cost projections. Funding, in general, is also determined by the available overall budget.”
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