Surge in GBV calls puts emergency response under scrutiny - IOL

A surge in calls to South Africa’s Gender-Based Violence Command Centre and inadequate manning of SAPS's 10111 policing service have prompted renewed scrutiny of emergency response systems.

The Department of Social Development recorded 6 782 calls to the 24-hour centre between September 1 and 16, an average of 424 a day. A 21% increase on the daily average of 350 was also recorded over the same period in August.

The department revealed a spike in calls between September 13 and 16, when the centre received about 500 calls a day, compared with an average of 399 during the first 12 days of September. On 16 September alone, 589 calls were recorded, the highest daily figure during the period.

The figures come amid heightened concern over violence against women, including reports that at least 12 women were found dead in Ekurhuleni. 

“The Department of Social Development has recorded a significant increase in gender-based violence-related calls to its 24-hour Gender-Based Violence Command Centre, amid heightened public attention on gender-based violence and femicide,” the department said.

Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron has been vocal about the state of the 10111 system.

Cameron said parliamentary information supplied by SAPS showed that nearly 45% of operational 10111 centres for which conventional telephone-line figures were provided were operating with reduced line capacity.

But he said the problem could not be reduced to statistics.

“When someone calls 10111, they may be hiding from an attacker, witnessing a murder, or trying to get help in the few minutes that could determine whether someone lives or dies,” Cameron said.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia told Parliament, in a response to Cameron, that SAPS spent R19.3 million on 10111 systems over five financial years, but made no capital investment to modernise its three main systems. The Cisco Unified Communications Manager has reached End-of-Life and End-of-Support, leaving it without software updates, security patches or manufacturer support.

Gender specialist on violence against women Lisa Vetten said the growing number of women seeking help must be considered alongside the ability of emergency services to respond when those women reach out.

Vetten raised concerns over the failure of SAPS's 10111 emergency response ability, particularly as the delay in police intervention could leave a woman exposed to further violence.

“If you cannot get through, then the police cannot respond to you and your risk of being hurt very badly is increased because nobody comes to your aid,” Vetten said.

Drawing on cases she has dealt with, she said the failure of police to arrive could also embolden perpetrators.

“From cases that I have actually dealt with, some men, when the police don’t come, they laugh harder at women and point out to them that nobody will help them.” 

Vetten said a dysfunctional emergency system could reinforce an abusive partner’s sense of power because the woman is unable to access help.

“10111 has got to be sorted out as soon as possible,” she said, adding that the problem was not only about getting a call through, but whether police had the vehicles and resources needed to respond once an emergency was reported.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike said the issue went beyond the question of whether a telephone was answered.

“This is bigger than whether a telephone is answered. We must examine the entire protection chain: prevention, access to help, the speed of the State’s response and what happens to a survivor afterwards,” Letsike said.

She said the State could not encourage women to report violence without ensuring that the systems they were directed towards could translate those calls into protection.

“We cannot urge women to report violence without ensuring that, when they reach out, the State can convert that call into protection. If survivors cannot get through, or their calls produce no meaningful response, we risk undermining confidence in the systems we ask them to trust.” 

Letsike acknowledged that the GBV Command Centre and SAPS 10111 have different functions. The Command Centre provides counselling, support and referrals, while 10111 is an emergency policing service.

But for a woman in danger, she said, the services form part of one protection system.

“A woman calling while being assaulted or threatened is not experiencing a telecommunications problem; she is experiencing a threat to her life,” Letsike said.

SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the police service was continuously monitoring the operational capacity of its 10111 emergency call centres and addressing challenges relating to telephone-line capacity and infrastructure.

“Where a particular centre experiences reduced capacity or a technical interruption, contingency measures are implemented to ensure that emergency calls are managed and that policing resources can still be mobilised,” Mathe said.

She said a telephone-line challenge at an individual 10111 centre should not be interpreted as meaning that emergency policing assistance was unavailable.

“Members remain at police stations and operational points, and members of the public can approach the nearest police station in an emergency,” Mathe said.