Less than 25% of Gauteng police stations have dedicated toilets for GBV victims
Gender-based violence (GBV) victims reporting incidents at police stations are frequently forced to use the same bathrooms as the public and officers.
A report released by the Gauteng provincial government showed that only 23% of the province's police stations had dedicated toilets for those reporting GBV incidents.
A non-profit organisation (NPO) specialising in the care of GBV victims warned that not providing those traumatised with discreet facilities could hamper reporting and investigations.
Crimes against women
While all 149 police stations in Gauteng had functional GBV rooms, only 34 had toilets dedicated to those reliant on the rooms' privacy.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi signed off the report, which was compiled after a written request submitted to the provincial legislature.
South Africa recorded 13 452 sexual offences in the first three months of 2025 — including 10 688 rapes and 1 872 sexual assaults.
Of the 2 042 rapes reported in Gauteng in the first quarter, 859 occurred at home, 336 occurred in a public place and 25 at leisure premises like a guest house or holiday resort, among other locations.
Among the 30 stations with the highest number of rape reports were five from Gauteng, with Roodepoort placed fourth nationally, having seen an 81% increase from the same quarter last year.
The other four listed rape hotspots in Gauteng were Orange Farm, Diepsloot, Alexandra and Ivory Park.
The top three in the national were Thohoyandou in Limpopo, as well as Inanda and Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal.
GBV assaults
Of Gauteng's top five stations, Diepsloot, Alexandra and Orange Farm do not have private toilets for GBV victims, but Roodepoort and Ivory Park do.
Gauteng also experienced 7 797 cases of domestic violence that involved assault and damage to property, with women being the victims in roughly 75% of the time.
A United Nations (UN) report on the barrier to GBV disclosure showed that improved facilities led to women being more open to reporting their ordeal.
'More than half of the women participants (54%) cited shame as the main reason for not disclosing the violence they experienced, followed by a belief that they would not receive support if they did,' stated the UN report.
'Additionally, 41% of women reported feeling that they do not have access to a safe and confidential space to disclose the violence,' the report added.
Privacy needed for reporting
Policy development and advocacy specialist at Sonke Gender Justice (SGJ) Namuma Mulindi said the most important facet of dealing with GBV victims was to do so privately and with urgency.
'We found that in trying to provide safe spaces for GBV victims, we must be careful not to draw increased attention to who they are,' Mulindi told The Citizen.
Through experience, SGJ have found that while dedicated toilets were available for victims at police stations, they were still visible to the public.
'Because of how these facilities and rooms were set apart from the main police station, anyone who came to the police station was able to immediately identify persons who had come to report a GBV case,' said Mulindi.
'This defeated the whole purpose of creating safe spaces designated for GBV victims, as it only drew attention to who they are and increased the issue of shame, leading to a reduction of cases reported.
'The spaces reserved for victims must be factored into police stations in a manner that does not draw attention to victims,' Mulindi advised.
NOW READ: Chikunga urges stronger partnerships in GBV fight as stats paint grim picture
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