Urgent need for emergency shelters for women and children in Chatsworth

COMMUNITY leaders in Chatsworth are urgently advocating for the establishment of emergency shelters to support women and children fleeing abuse, highlighting the dire need for immediate action and resources.

Brandon Pillay, a community leader in Chatsworth and founder of the Bayview Ubuntu Community Centre, said there was a demand and need for shelters for women, children and the elderly.

“Recently, an 11-year-old rape victim, his sister, and his mother were under attack in the community by the alleged perpetrator’s supporters. I worked with the police to try to find a safe house for them. The first one we found could not accommodate the children and could only keep the mom. The second one was all the way in Phoenix where there was an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease. So we could not move them there,” he added.

Pillay said the boy needed to be with his mother, who was his safe person at the time.

“The boy was a victim of rape and sexual assault and he was scared. They were brought back to the police station that night, with nowhere to go. I eventually took them back home. I spoke to the residents and told them that the boy was a victim of a harsh crime, and he was not leaving the community as he was a victim and not a perpetrator.  I assured the mom and children of their safety, and I monitored them throughout the night,” he said.

Pillay said each month he dealt with at least 10 cases where mothers and their children needed a safe house, but there was nowhere to send them to.

“In Chatsworth, the Aryan Benevolent Home (ABH) is filled to capacity and cannot take in any more people. Also, to be able to place victims in any facility, we have to go through the Department of Social Development. But many of these cases are brought to light at night or over weekends, when the department dealing with placements of victims is closed. In the interim, where do victims go?” Pillay asked.

He said victims are often sent back to their homes, where the abuse happened, forcing them to endure secondary and further abuse.

“We have to send victims of sexual assault or gender-based violence back home to where the abuse happened. We have fathers beating up their wives and children, and we have nowhere to place them. They go back to the same house, and they are beaten up again, leaving them stuck in the cycle of abuse.

“Twice in recent weeks, police in Bayview had put money together and booked a hotel room for women and children who were victims of abuse. We all tried to find them a safe house, but failed. We did not know what else to do. Last week, we had three victims in one week, and no place for them,” he added. 

Pillay said the time had come for the community to build a shelter for victims of abuse.

“As a community, we must be able to provide this on our own. How long are we going to wait for the government to do it? We have the land behind the Bayview Ubuntu Community Centre, but we need funding. Phase two of the centre is to open the shelter,” she said.

Prenashen Pillay, the director of Child Welfare Chatsworth, said Chatsworth was in “desperate need” of a shelter or a place of safety.

“We struggle daily to find appropriate placements for children we remove, bearing in mind the known removal rate at our office is high. Although the Children’s Act guidelines prescribe that the child being removed, should ideally remain within the family, relatives are rarely willing to assume the role of caregiver especially where a relatives child. 

“There is also the issue of the cost of caring for a child. The ABH and the child and youth care centre in Welbedacht are generally filled to capacity, with placements from Chatsworth and other districts. This alone suggests that the demand is just as high, not only in Chatsworth. It's the worst case scenario. Our social workers regularly conduct contact-making within the community in an attempt to recruit suitable individuals who are trained and held on standby to care for children. 

“We assist them with food hampers and additional resources to care for these children. Some weeks we remove between 2 and 3 children,” he added.

Pillay said the CWC removed, on average, between eight and 13 children per week.

“Immediate removals are for severe sexual or physical abuse. Recently, we removed a seven-year-old girl from her home after her father allowed men to sexually abuse her in exchange for money. We also removed five siblings from Bayview, who all displayed sexualised behaviour.

“They were living with their mother, who brought home her clients from prostitution. They learned from observation. These children also suffer from poor living circumstances, zero parenting or parental care, poor school attendance, and food is scarce in the home.

“We end up begging existing foster parents to accommodate children until we find better placement options. Most often we end up splitting siblings and sending them to whatever placement is found suitable and available.

“Social reform and immediate policy shifts are necessary. Only DSD can bring relief by establishing facilities that can support the current need for safe alternative care options,” Pillay added.

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