Stellenbosch GBV Centre | Stellenbosch Thuthuzela Care Centre | Stellenbosch University INSPIRE facility

The Stellenbosch GBV Centre is one of the newest and most significant GBV facilities in the Western Cape — inaugurated in February 2024 after five years of careful planning, private-sector collaboration, and community engagement. It is a truly unique institution: a dedicated, purpose-built GBV facility inside a community, combining clinical medical care, psychological support, legal assistance, emergency accommodation, forensic services, a Thuthuzela Care Centre, and an academic research facility — all under one roof, free of charge, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It was born from an extraordinary collaboration forged in December 2019 between Professor Wolfgang Schürer (founder of the St. Gallen Symposium) and Dr Edwin Hertzog (founder of Mediclinic International) — two men who agreed to use the power of private-sector partnership to overlay and support an overburdened state GBV response system. What grew from that conversation is the Stellenbosch GBV Centre: a 1,400–1,500 square metre converted former Stellenbosch University residence in Ida's Valley, rebuilt specifically to care for survivors.

The centre's vision — expressed in three words — is: Connected Care. Collaboration. In-Community.

If you are a GBV survivor in or near Stellenbosch, the GBV Centre is one of the most comprehensive single-stop facilities available to you in the Western Cape. It is free. It is 24/7. You do not have to come alone.

What They Offer Survivors

Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC) — 24 Hours, 7 Days The Stellenbosch TCC, hosted within the GBV Centre, is a one-stop facility for survivors of rape and any form of GBV. Services include: - Immediate medical attention and clinical examination for adults - A separate, dedicated clinical facility exclusively for child survivors - Psychosocial counselling arranged on-site - Assistance opening a police case — at the pace and timing that suits the survivor, not the system - Ongoing case support and court preparation if the case goes to trial - Trauma-centred, survivor-first care throughout

The TCC is staffed around the clock — 063 238 4280.

Comprehensive Clinical and Medical Care The GBV Centre's medical facilities are purpose-built for both adult and paediatric (child) survivors — equipped to a standard of clinical care that most public health facilities in South Africa cannot match. The former head of the Victoria Hospital Rape Unit, Dr Rhene de Villiers, has been centrally involved in developing the medical training and protocols. Medical care is available to all, regardless of financial status.

Psychological Support and Counselling Counselling services are arranged at the centre — for immediate crisis containment and for longer-term healing. The centre's model is explicitly survivor-centred: the survivor's safety, dignity, and recovery are the organising principles of every service provided.

Legal Assistance Legal assistance is available on-site — helping survivors understand their rights, navigate the process of opening a case, apply for protection orders, and access the NPA's GBV Unit for prosecution support.

Emergency Accommodation Emergency accommodation is available at the centre for survivors who cannot safely return home after coming for help.

INSPIRE Research and Training Facility (Stellenbosch University) Hosted within the GBV Centre, the INSPIRE facility (Initiative for Non-violence, Support, Prevention, Intervention, Research, and Education) establishes the centre as a national research and training resource — connecting global academic networks, training medical and law enforcement professionals, and generating the evidence needed to improve South Africa's GBV response at a systemic level. This is rare and significant: a GBV centre that simultaneously serves survivors and improves the entire national system.

Mediclinic Emergency Centre Training Programme A pilot launched in 2021 has trained doctors and nurses at Mediclinic emergency centres across the Western Cape — and subsequently nationally — to specifically manage GBV survivors, regardless of financial status. This means that even before a survivor reaches the dedicated GBV Centre, the medical team at a Mediclinic emergency room is trained to treat them correctly.

The Stellenbosch GBV Centre is at the corner of Old Helshoogte Road & Protea Street, Ida's Valley, Stellenbosch. TCC: 063 238 4280 (24/7). GBV Hub: 021 569 7012 (office hours). All services are free of charge.