Prevention services, survivor support, shelters and community-based interventions to end gender-based violence and assist victims to recover.
Victim Empowerment
Victim empowerment is an approach to facilitating access to a range of services for people who have individually or collectively suffered harm, trauma or material loss through violence and crime. It aims to build and restore a healthy, peaceful and economically viable society by promoting the resourcefulness of victims and providing opportunities to access services, build capacity and support networks, and act on their own choices and responsibilities.
A victim is any person who has suffered harm including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of fundamental rights through acts or omissions that violate criminal law.
Gender-Based Violence refers to any crime or action directed at a person or group on the basis of perceived or actual gender or sexual orientation. This includes dating violence, sexual harassment, assault, verbal and physical abuse, stalking and femicide (the killing of a victim during or after abuse).
Any intentional act causing injury or trauma by bodily contact — scratching, punching, biting, strangling, kicking, choking, slapping, or throwing objects.
Non-consensual sexual contact, rape, unwanted touching, sexual exploitation, or sexual humiliation including forcing sexual acts or using objects without consent.
Controlling or stealing money, withholding financial support, seizing cards, or preventing access to pensions and resources.
Insults, threats, humiliation, isolation, excessive monitoring, jealousy, and other non-physical behaviours intended to control or intimidate.
A course of conduct that destroys a person's privacy and security — repeated calls, messages, surveillance, or following that causes fear.
The GBV Command Centre provides a national 24/7 telephonic trauma counselling service and referral. Services include:
Human trafficking is recruitment, transportation or harbouring of persons by force, fraud or deception for exploitation. Causes include poverty, lack of education, demand for cheap labour or sex, and lack of safe migration options.
Types: sexual exploitation, forced labour, debt bondage, domestic servitude, organ removal, forced begging, child soldiers, forced marriage.
Domestic abuse is a pattern of behaviour used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological and affects people across ages and backgrounds.
Signs include intimidation, isolation, threats, controlling finances, humiliation, and escalating violence.
The Green/White Door is an emergency temporary facility offering short-term accommodation (often 24 hours) and practical support to victims of crime and violence while referrals to trauma counselling, shelter services, medical and legal assistance are arranged.
Shelters provide safe accommodation from one day up to approximately six months depending on needs. Shelters do not provide statutory services to children and therefore cannot accommodate unaccompanied minors; victims must be 18 years or older unless accompanied by guardians.
