UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN APPLAUDS SOUTH AFRICA’S EFFORTS DURING VISIT TO SAARTJIE BAARTMAN SHELTER
By Precious Mupenzi
- The United Nations’ Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, experienced the harsh realities faced by vulnerable women and children during a visit to the Saartjie Baartman Centre of Women and Children in Athlone, Cape Town.
- Dr M’jid is visiting South Africa at an important time in the country, with campaigns underway as part of the national Child Protection Month during May.
- Dr M’jid was deeply moved by the courage of the women and children she met at the centre and was equally inspired by the dedication of the staff who make this safe space possible.
South Africa’s ongoing fight against violence toward children received international recognition today, 13 May 2025, as the Department of Social Development hosted the United Nations’ Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, on a visit to the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children in Athlone, Cape Town.
The visit was part of a broader engagement to assess and strengthen the country’s efforts to protect vulnerable women and children from abuse and violence. It comes at a grave time, as South Africa observes Child Protection Month under the theme “Working Together to End Violence Against Children”.
Dr M’jid, a Moroccan paediatrician and lifelong advocate for children’s rights, began her South African mission after a similar visit to Nigeria.
On arrival, she immediately engaged with local leaders and stakeholders, attending the national launch of Child Protection Month in Thaba Nchu, Free State.
She was also part of a high-level multi-stakeholder meeting held in Pretoria, convened by the minister of social development, Sisisi Tolashe, to assess the progress and challenges in safeguarding South Africa’s children.
Her stop in Cape Town brought her face-to-face with the real-life stories behind the statistics. At the Saartjie Baartman Centre – a sanctuary named after the Khoikhoi woman whose story has become a symbol of exploitation and resilience – Dr M’jid saw first-hand the critical services provided to women and children fleeing abuse.
Established in 1999, the Saartjie Baartman Centre is a pioneering one-stop facility in the Western Cape that offers holistic support for survivors of gender-based violence and child abuse.
Situated in Athlone, the centre provides residential care, trauma counselling, legal assistance, job skills training, and early childhood development programmes, all under one roof.
Over the past two decades, it has become a beacon of hope for thousands of women and children in crisis.
The centre’s director, Bernadine Bachar, shared a compelling presentation that painted a vivid picture of the shelter’s operations, saying the ongoing scourge of gang violence in Cape Town’s communities is undermining vital services for women and children affected by abuse.
The centre has experienced almost daily gunfire over the past two-and-a-half-months, severely disrupting operations and traumatising clients.
The instability in the area made it nearly impossible to operate safely and consistently, Bachar said. Accessing partner services, such as clinics or schools, often became dangerous due to crossfire and threats of violence.
“When women who have already suffered trauma come into the shelter and hear gunshots at night, it retraumatises them,” she said, adding that the safety of children was also compromised.
The centre has had to adapt by shifting to remote service options like Zoom during high-risk periods.
Bachar revealed that the centre is launching a four-month intervention programme aimed at addressing the root causes of gang violence among young men.
The initiative will work with a small group of boys to unpack the psychological and social drivers behind gang recruitment, such as the lack of father figures, social belonging, and the perceived status associated with gang membership. The programme includes counselling, life skills training, school support, and family reunification.
The centre also collaborates with the South African Police Service and the justice system to support survivors of gender-based violence through court processes, but Bachar raised concerns about long delays and high attrition rates in legal cases. She pointed to a lack of access to rape kits and other essential tools for early intervention.
While South Africa has strong legislation, including the Domestic Violence Act and an acclaimed Constitution, Bachar stressed that the gap lies in implementation. She believes the country has excellent policies on paper, but they often fall short due to financial constraints, weak interdepartmental collaboration, and poor follow-through on the ground.
The centre forms part of a local gender-based violence hub that seeks to improve coordination between community-based organisations. However, Bachar noted, service delivery in many communities remains fragmented.
“We can’t do it alone,” she said. “That’s why collaboration with other community-based organisations is critical.”
She also acknowledged that funding remains a major challenge. To stay afloat, the centre runs entrepreneurial initiatives such as a catering service to supplement donor income and reduce dependency.
While hesitant to discuss the centre’s work on human trafficking due to its sensitive nature, Bachar confirmed that trafficking remains a growing crisis in South African communities, requiring a highly specialised and concentrated response.
She highlighted the urgent need to instil values of non-violence and respect for life in children from as young as three or four. She warned that by the time they reach their teenage years; it is often too late to undo the normalisation of violence.
One of the most powerful moments of the programme came when a foreign national beneficiary bravely shared her testimony, moving many in the room with her raw honesty and strength.
Her voice, emotional yet full of strength, reminded everyone that behind every statistic is a life, often scarred by trauma but not without hope.
As she spoke, Dr M’jid listened intently, visibly touched by the woman’s account of survival and transformation.
Fighting back tears, the woman recalled how she nearly lost her child due to abuse by her partner and ended up in hospital.
“When I arrived at the centre, I had no hope. I wasn’t smiling. I had completely lost myself,” she said. Now staying at the centre with her child, she credits her social worker for helping her reclaim her life and rediscover her strength.
With renewed confidence, she shared her dream of one day opening a shelter in her home country.
“Many women where I come from are abused and have nowhere to go. They end up going back to their abusers or to families who don’t support them. I want to create a place of safety and healing, just like the one that saved me.”
Dr M’jid, who has dedicated over 40 years to child protection, described the centre as “a model of integrated care that can inspire the world”. Addressing staff and survivors at the centre, she commended their resilience and the centre’s comprehensive approach, which aligns closely with her own mission at the UN.
“I am deeply moved by the courage of the women and children I met today, and I am equally inspired by the dedication of the staff who make this safe space possible. Ending violence against children requires exactly this kind of coordinated, community-based action,” Dr M’jid said.
Speaking after engaging with survivors at the centre, Dr M’jid commended the country’s approach to integrated service delivery and encouraged a people-centred, multi-sectoral response.
“What I saw here today shows that you know what you are doing,” she said.
“You are working together across sectors to respond to the needs of children and women in a concrete and holistic way. But this effort must include everyone, not just non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or ministries. It must involve the people themselves.”
She stressed the importance of listening to survivors and to those who use the services, stating that their voices are essential to identifying gaps and strengthening service delivery.
“The most important thing is what you are already doing, listening to children and women. This is how you provide concrete, effective responses,” she said.
Dr M’jid also highlighted the intersection of social protection and economic empowerment as key to sustainable change, emphasising that violence is not isolated to homes, but extends into schools and other public spaces.
“Violence against children and gender-based violence are often interlinked. Children not only experience abuse but also witness it at home and in schools. That exposure leaves deep scars,” she said.
She called on all sectors, including health, education, and immigration services, to take joint responsibility for protecting vulnerable groups, including undocumented migrant women and children, who often face barriers in accessing services.
“It’s not just the role of the Development of Social Development alone. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that services are accessible to all, especially the most vulnerable,” she said.
Dr M’jid reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting South Africa in its journey as a “pathfinding country” in the global initiative to end violence against children.
“You have made pledges. You have committed to moving forward. You’ve already done so many wonderful things.
“Now it’s time to bring them all together. You can count on my support, and that of the entire UN country team, including UNICEF,” she concluded.
With a career that spans continents, Dr M’jid’s voice carries weight in the global child protection community.
Before her UN appointment in 2019, she served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography from 2008 to 2014. She is also the founder of Bayti, a Moroccan NGO credited with groundbreaking work in reintegrating street children.
Her South African visit has also been seen as a morale booster for the country’s child protection networks, especially as they confront the twin challenges of poverty and pervasive violence.
Back at the Saartjie Baartman Centre, the atmosphere was one of warmth and cautious optimism. Survivors shared their journeys of healing, while staff highlighted programmes ranging from court preparation workshops for children to skills development projects for mothers.
As Dr M’jid continues her mission in South Africa, including further engagements with government and civil society, her visit stands as a poignant reminder: protecting children from violence is not the work of one institution or country, it is a collective global duty.
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