Blog
NGOs commit to new plan to assist the homeless in Cape Town
In a recent study, U-turn, Khulisa Streetscapes and MES calculated the cost of homelessness in Cape Town and found that currently over R744 million is spent on this societal challenge, with a significant R286 million being spent on criminal justice costs alone.
South African vagrancy laws hark back to colonial times and violate human rights
In a watershed judgment, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights has ruled that vague, outdated colonial-era laws, like those that outlaw being idle or disorderly, are a violation of human rights as embodied in the African Charter.
In the cross-hairs: foreigners in SA’s informal sector
Politicians are pushing anti-immigrant messages and policy ahead of next year’s local government elections.
Municipal Training on Community Safety Planning to Strengthen the Role of Local Government in Building Safer Communities
Local government, the closest interface between government and communities, is a key driver of quality service delivery including the promotion of community safety. The Constitution demands that services and functions that have the most developmental impact on citizens should be performed by local government.
Public Space and Urban Safety
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, South Africa has had one of the strictest lockdowns worldwide, restricting movements significantly and citizens were only allowed to leave home for essential services like shopping and doctors’ visits. Public Spaces are abandoned areas during this time. However, social inequality and the imbalance of opportunities remain apparent - maybe more than ever before.
The war on women and children in South Africa
The family is the site of extremely violent incidents in South African society—particularly involving women and children. What can the state do?
Depression and domestic violence on the rise
The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is being felt not only in the growing number of infections but also in an increase in general anxiety and cases of gender-based violence.
Launch of the 2020 State of Crime and Safety in SA Cities Report
The State of Crime and Safety in SA Cities 2020 is an interim update and is a precursor to the 4th edition State of Urban Safety in South Africa Report, planned for 2021. With the aim of enabling continuity in evidence-based planning and implementation by city administrations and other actors with a role in the promotion of safer cities, this edition analyses the state of crime and violence in nine of South Africa’s major cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung, Buffalo City and Msunduzi.
Lessons learned from the first Kenyan app for tracking gender violence
Using the data gathered through the app, the Flone Initiative aims to create a comprehensive database on gender-based violence hotspots across Kenya, particularly on public transport and other public transport spaces, so that Kenyan women can plan safer journeys for themselves and their loved ones. The data will also give government authorities, public transport operators, and civil society movements a deeper understanding of gender-based violence across Kenya, identifying unmet needs, raising public awareness and helping to shape policy on safety in public spaces.