How the Khuseleka One Stop Centre is transforming support for gender-based violence survivors in KwaZulu-Natal

The Khuseleka One Stop Centre (KOSC) on the Bluff is expected to provide comprehensive, integrated, and dignified services to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and related social harms.

The launch of the KOSC in the eThekwini region of KwaZulu-Natal marks a significant milestone in the provincial effort to end GBV and build a society anchored in safety, equality, and compassion, said Mbali Shinga, MEC for the KZN Department of Social Development (DSD) at the launch on Thursday. 

Shinga stated that the government is accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), which remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in South Africa. She said GBV demands a coordinated, survivor-centred response.

These centres are intended to redefine intervention models by providing integrated, multi-sectoral services that holistically address the needs of victims and contribute to breaking the cycle of gender-based violence. 

Shinga said that the KOSC will ensure survivors receive immediate, seamless, and confidential support without the burden of navigating fragmented systems. These include:

• Continuum of care across the cycle of violence.
• Case reporting and coordination.
• Psychosocial support.
• Health and medico-legal services.
• Justice system support .

eThekwini Municipality Ward 66 councillor Zoe Solomon said the KOSC will serve KZN as an oasis for victims of GBVF and their children. She added that civic associations at the grassroots level play a pivotal role in the help offered to victims of GBVF.

She said associations should play a crucial role in assisting the police and healthcare workers through rigorous engagement

“It is an excellent initiative by the department to provide a safe space, with holistic therapies, to assist the victims to become victorious survivors. The facility is not a drop-in centre; cases are referred through the SAPS and local healthcare facilities to the Department of Social Development, which places individuals according to their needs,” Solomon explained. 

The DSD is mandated in respect of Pillar 4 Response, Care, Support, and Healing of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF to ensure the provision of sheltering services for victims of GBV.

One of the key resolutions emanating from the second Presidential GBVF summit, held in November 2022, mandates that each province establish a KOSC. 

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