Source: The Simmons Voice
"Most of them are afraid to speak about what happened to them," says Caroline Tsetsana, a zone manager for the Simelela Centre for survivors of sexual violence.

She sits in her chair precariously – always on the verge of standing up to address her audience. Her strong voice fills the small boardroom, its walls covered with grim statistics about violence against women and posters about rape and domestic violence.

The silence she describes is not uncommon. Many women throughout South Africa are unwilling or unable to confront the violence that has occurred against them, say Simelela staff members.

For those who have been physically and sexually violated there are few places to turn to for help.

Community members can be afraid of confronting their neighbors in matters they believe should be private, says Counselor Ruth Lindelwa Silika. Police officers are often not trained to deal with the grave psychological damage that rape and domestic violence can breed. Safe spaces exist, but they are few and far between.

Simelela, tucked behind a nondescript emergency health center in Khayelitsha, is one of them. Working with like-minded organizations, Simelela describes its mission as providing quality and comprehensive care for survivors of sexual and domestic violence, as well as community education and assertiveness training.

Violence against women has become a major social issue in this sprawling black township outside of Cape Town with its population of more than 700,000 people, larger than most South African cities. In May, Simelela reported 34 cases of domestic violence and 60 cases of rape.

Although the nongovernmental organization is seeing an increase in reported cases, says Nozwelo Ncube, Simelela Centre Manager, these numbers represent just a fraction of the violent cases against women – many more go unreported.

The history of Simelela is quite telling, says Silika – who has been with the organization since its beginning.

The Simelela Centre was established in 1998 in response to a case involving the rape of a 1-year-old girl at the hands of her father in Khayelitsha's Site C. Appalled by the violent act, the township community marched to police station and demanded restitution, but protestors were answered with sterile medical and careful legal procedures, she says.

Disgusted by the lack of action, community members called for more – more services and education, more empathy and consideration.

With the support of the Rape Crisis Centre and Nonceba: For Sexual Abuse of Children – two prominent organizations working on gender issues in the Cape Town area – 32 female volunteers from Site C were trained to offer short-term counseling and referrals to outside agencies, says Silika.

An institution was born, she adds.

Ncube is a young Zimbabwean who has been with the organization a little over a year. She says that the centre continues to compensate for the lack of true engagement on the part of local authorities.

"We offer the clients safe and private spaces," says Ncube, "unlike the police stations."

Since its establishment, Simelela has sought to increase its capacity to serve its constituency. In August 2005 the "one-stop shop" began to operate as it does currently, says Silika.

In conjunction with Mosaic – Simelela's sponsoring organization – the centre now offers containment counseling and evidence-collection services. Additionally, clients may receive voluntary counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS, HIV prevention medication, service referrals, and legal assistance. Assertiveness training and family and couple counseling are also available.

Its comprehensive services – all of which are free– are made possible through funding and partnerships that the organization has fostered since its birth, says Ncube. The South African Department of Social Development, the Global Fund, the South African Department of Health, and the Elton John Foundation are among its funders.

Its NGO status allows Simelela to act independently of the government and critique it's effectiveness, says Ncube.

Although the promise to protect people's dignity and ensure their security is in the South African Bill of Rights, says Ncube, the reality is women are being brutally raped and abused and are not receiving adequate psychological, social, or medical care.

• South Africa