National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)

Prosecution of GBV offences (rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, femicide). For survivors, the NPA is the entity that takes their case to court and prosecutes the perpetrator ; SOCA Unit for sexual offences and domestic violence; Reducing secondary victimisation; GBV prevention; Human trafficking **The NPA's SOCA Unit — what it does:** - **Prosecution of sexual offences** — rape, sexual assault, child sex offences; specialist prosecutors trained in trauma-informed, survivor-centred practice - **Prosecution of domestic violence** — including assault GBH, attempted murder, intimidation, and other DVA offences - **Prosecutor-Guided Investigations (PGI)** — prosecutors work directly with SAPS investigators from the earliest stages of a GBV case to ensure evidence is properly secured and cases are built for prosecution - **Victim Assistant Officers (VAOs)** — SOCA-trained officers at TCCs and courts who provide court preparation, emotional support, and procedural guidance to rape/sexual assault/DV survivors throughout the criminal justice process - **Specialist Sexual Offences Courts** — the NPA supports the designation of specialist courts with trained prosecutors, intermediaries for child witnesses, and victim-friendly courtrooms - **Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs)** — the NPA's SOCA Unit leads and coordinates SA's 66 TCCs nationally (currently 65–66 sites as at 2025); TCCs are embedded in hospitals across all provinces and provide 24/7 one-stop integrated services: medical examination, forensic evidence collection, psychosocial counselling, SAPS statement-taking, and legal information — all in one location, preventing the "survivor shuffle" through multiple institutions - **Community Prosecution** — 50 community prosecution sites nationally (26 specifically GBV-focused) providing localised, community-specific GBV prosecution solutions - **Policy and training** — SOCA sets prosecutor directives for sexual offences and domestic violence, trains prosecutors nationally, and provides policy leadership on GBV case management - **Serial Rapist Prioritisation Initiative** — launched 2023; fast-tracks prosecution of identified serial rape cases - **DNA Prioritisation Initiative** — reduces DNA evidence backlogs to strengthen prosecution