A letter has been addressed to Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Thembi Simelane, by the Standing Committee on Social Development in the Western Cape Legislature to address the attacks on social workers.
The provincial spokesperson for Social Development, Wendy Kaizer-Philander said the committee has urged the national minister to classify the attacks as those against the State.
“The Standing Committee on Social Development in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament has unanimously resolved to approach Minister Simelane, urging that attacks on social workers be classified as crimes against the state,” Kaizer-Philander said.
“This resolution, spearheaded by the Democratic Alliance (DA), received cross-party support from members of the African National Congress (ANC), the Patriotic Alliance (PA), and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).”
She said recent briefings to the Standing Committee have revealed an alarming trend of social workers being targeted by criminal syndicates.
While no fatalities have been reported to date, the psychological and operational impact on these frontline workers has been severe.
“Heightened stress, trauma, and increased absenteeism have become widespread, compromising their ability to serve vulnerable communities. The Department of Social Development remains committed to supporting affected workers during this challenging period,” Kaizer-Philander said.
“An integrated approach is being employed to combat these attacks, involving SAPS, Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap), the provincial department of Community Safety, and City Law Enforcement,” she said.
“All attacks are promptly reported to the relevant authorities, with the Department of Social Development keeping track of all cases and regularly following up on progress.”
She went on to thank all other parties in the committee who supported the resolution to wrote to the national government and fight against the attacks on social workers.
“It is of utmost importance to protect our social workers who work tirelessly to better our society. Any attack on a social worker is unacceptable and should be classified as an attack on the state so that harsher sentences can be applied. We patiently await feedback from the National Government regarding this matter,” Kaizer-Philander said.