National Children & Violence Trust

The National Children and Violence Trust was born during one of the most violent periods in South African history. When Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize founded NCVT in 1995, the political violence of the transition era was at its peak and the informal settlements of Gauteng's north and west — Diepsloot, Cosmo City, the areas around Honeydew and Zandspruit — were places where children were growing up surrounded by trauma, with nowhere to turn. Prof Mkhize saw the gap and filled it: a community-based trauma counselling service that met people where they were.

Thirty years later, NCVT has 20 dedicated staff, 28 volunteers, reaches over 1,500 participants per month, and has built something that is still relatively rare in South Africa: a network of psychosocial consultation rooms operating inside ten SAPS police stations, staffed by trained social workers and counsellors, available to anyone who comes to those stations needing help.

What They Offer Survivors and Families

Victim Friendly Rooms — Inside 10 SAPS Stations NCVT's most distinctive and important service is its network of ten Victim Friendly Rooms (VFRs), each located physically inside a SAPS police station and staffed by NCVT social workers and counsellors. The VFR concept ensures that a survivor who walks into a police station to report abuse is immediately connected to psychosocial support — not sent somewhere else or left to navigate an indifferent system alone.

The ten VFR locations are: - Cosmo City SAPS — ext 8, corner Moldavia St and China Cres; Tel: 011 875 9941 - Diepsloot SAPS — 1 Ingonyama St, Diepsloot West; Tel: 011 367 6300 - Roodepoort SAPS — 4 Raath St, Horison; Tel: 011 279 6532 - Florida SAPS — 5 Sauer St, Florida; Tel: 011 831 7000 - Honeydew SAPS — Plot 3 Juice St, Honeydew; Tel: 011 801 8400 - Randburg SAPS — 20 Shepard Ave, Kensington B; Tel: 011 449 9110 - Ivory Park SAPS — 21 August Drive, Ivory Park; Tel: 011 990 9600 - Rabie Ridge SAPS — 1312 Stilt Ave, Rabie Ridge; Tel: 011 310 0410 - Douglasdale SAPS — Topaas Ave, Douglasdale; Tel: 011 669 1333 - Midrand SAPS — Smuts Dr & Oracle Close, Midrand; Tel: 011 347 1600

Services delivered at each VFR include: psycho-social assessment and trauma management, individual and family counselling, containment and stabilisation for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes, information about rights, referrals to other service providers, and home visits to verify cases of neglect, child abandonment, and abuse. In acute child protection cases, NCVT facilitates referral to places of safety and statutory social workers for court-ordered intervention.

Community-Based Psychosocial Services Beyond the VFR network, NCVT community workers operate across Diepsloot, Cosmo City, Zandspruit, Lanseria, Msawawa, and Itsoseng — carrying services to people who may not reach a police station. Home visits, community outreach, and school-based work bring trauma counselling and GBV awareness directly into communities.

Child Protection — Core Mandate Child protection is NCVT's founding mandate and remains central to all its work. This includes: identifying children at risk of abuse or neglect, providing trauma support to abused children, facilitating removal to places of safety where children are in danger, reporting to the DSD's statutory child protection services, and supporting families in the aftermath of child abuse disclosure.

Women and GBV While NCVT began with a focus on children, its work has expanded to include a strong focus on women experiencing domestic violence and GBV — reflected in its VFR presence at police stations, its community outreach, and its participation in the 16 Days of Activism campaign each year.

Persons with Disabilities NCVT has specifically extended its mandate to include people with disabilities — a group that faces elevated vulnerability to abuse and is frequently underserved by mainstream GBV services.

HIV/AIDS-Affected Individuals and Families NCVT provides psychosocial support to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS — addressing the intersection between health vulnerability, poverty, and violence.

Awareness Campaigns — 16 Days of Activism and Ongoing NCVT runs annual awareness campaigns including participation in the 16 Days of Activism (25 November–10 December), wearing orange and fundraising to support survivor services, and ongoing dialogue-based community education on GBV, abuse, and rights.

Care Packs NCVT provides care packs — essential items — to survivors in crisis, particularly those presenting at VFRs or reached through community outreach.

NCVT — National Children and Violence Trust: 011 705 1960. Email: pr@ncvt.co.za. Head office: Fourways (co-located with Witkoppen Clinic). Victim Friendly Rooms at 10 SAPS stations across north and west Gauteng. Facebook: ncvtrust. Twitter: @NCVT7.