Department exceeds targets for Victim Empowerment Centres
The Gauteng Department of Social Development says it reached 63,538 victims of crime and violence through its Victim Empowerment Centres (VECs) during the 2025/26 financial year, surpassing the annual target, the department told the provincial legislature last week.
During the tabling of the department’s 2025/26 annual report, Gauteng MEC for Social Development Nomantu Nkomo‑Ralehoko said the department funded 115 VECs — exceeding its target of 108 — and that their work contributes to Pillar 4 of the National Strategic Plan on GBVF, which focuses on response, care, support and healing.
“We mean business when it comes to GBVF. We are not just the leading province in providing resources and actively fighting GBVF, we actually succeed our targets,” MEC Nkomo‑Ralehoko said.
Services offered and long‑term goals
The department highlighted a mix of immediate support and longer‑term interventions for survivors. It said services provided through VECs, shelters and funded non‑profit partners included:
- psychosocial support and counselling;
- referrals to health and legal services;
- access to shelters and temporary protection; and
- accredited skills programmes intended to strengthen economic independence.
MEC Nkomo‑Ralehoko emphasised that protection and economic empowerment must work together so survivors are not forced by poverty into unsafe choices. The department framed its approach as a “developmental response” aimed at immediate safety while creating conditions for independent, economically secure lives.
Targets and results at a glance
| Measure | Target (2025/26) | Actual (2025/26) |
|---|---|---|
| Victim Empowerment Centres funded | 108 | 115 |
| Victims reached | 54,530 | 63,538 |
What this means for communities in Gauteng
For survivors across townships and suburbs in Gauteng, the increased number of funded VECs and a higher reach suggest easier local access to immediate support services. Social workers and community organisations funded by the department are the first port of call for many victims, offering counselling and referrals to police, health facilities and legal aid.
However, the department’s report and the MEC’s comments did not provide a breakdown of the victims reached by age, gender, geographic area or type of violence, nor did they disclose waiting times or capacity constraints at individual centres. Those details are important for assessing whether services are reaching the most vulnerable or are concentrated in particular areas.
Calls for more detail and sustained funding
Advocacy groups and civil society actors have long warned that measurement of service delivery must look beyond headcounts to outcomes such as safety, prosecutions, sustained housing and economic stability. The department said it continues to fund accredited skills programmes for survivors — but the annual report extract tabled at the legislature did not state how many beneficiaries completed skills training or their employment outcomes.
Funding stability will be crucial. The department’s exceeding of numeric targets in 2025/26 shows progress, but continuation of counselling, shelter, legal assistance and economic-support programmes depends on consistent budgets and oversight to ensure quality services.
Where residents can get help
The department’s Victim Empowerment Programme remains a primary contact point for survivors seeking support. Residents looking for assistance can approach local social development offices, funded VECs, or registered non‑profit organisations that partner with the department. For immediate danger, victims should contact the SAPS emergency number; for psychosocial support and referrals, local social development offices can provide direction.
As Gauteng marks the reported gains, government, non‑profit partners and communities will need to translate numbers into sustained protection and real, measurable improvements in survivors’ livelihoods and safety.
