{"id":21062,"date":"2025-12-15T05:13:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T03:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/sa-sees-festive-season-spike-in-gbv-cases-shelter-movement-calls-for-urgent-support\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:32:13","slug":"sa-sees-festive-season-spike-in-gbv-cases-shelter-movement-calls-for-urgent-support","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/sa-sees-festive-season-spike-in-gbv-cases-shelter-movement-calls-for-urgent-support\/","title":{"rendered":"SA sees festive season spike in GBV cases, shelter movement calls for urgent support"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MailCompose\"><\/div>\n<div>The National Shelter Movement of South Africa (NSMSA) has issued an urgent call for increased awareness and support as the festive season begins, warning that the period often sees a spike in Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) cases.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>With GBVF officially classified as a national disaster in SA, the movement says the holidays present heightened risks for women, as more people spend extended periods at home, sometimes in volatile environments.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>According to the NSMSA, the festive season is often associated with increased reports of abuse, placing additional strain on shelters and support services. The organisation operates a toll-free, 24-hour National GBV Shelter Helpline, which is dedicated to placing survivors into safe houses and shelters across the country.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>NSMSA helpline Agent Lucia Mogale says several factors contribute to the rise in cases during this time.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe reason that it goes high is that most people are at home,\u201d Mogale explains. \u201cIn some cases, it means they are not going to school or work, so most individuals are around the home to rest.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>She adds that the festive focus on family can also be triggering for some survivors.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cEveryone is now focused on spending time with family, which for other people might not be the same situation,\u201d Mogale says.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The NSMSA continues to urge communities, families, and institutions to remain vigilant and to support survivors by reporting abuse and making use of available helplines and shelter services during the festive period.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13991,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-21062","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"GBVF is officially classified as a national disaster in SA.","published_date":null,"news_description":"GBVF is officially classified as a national disaster in SA.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24872,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/21062\/revisions\/24872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=21062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}