The social worker fraternity is calling for more awareness of what social work entails, raising the unsafety of social workers in the Western Cape.
The Western Cape Social Development Department said Khayelitsha, Philippi, Nyanga, and Gugulethu were the current unsafe areas for social workers in the province.
Department spokesperson Monique Mortlock-Malgas said there had been one reported assault case and two break-ins at a DSD office in Atlantis this year. There were also five hijackings and two break-ins in 2022.
“The cause of these attacks is criminal elements targeting Western Cape Government staff and Social workers. They face the threat of verbal and sometimes physical abuse by members of the public while conducting their work,” she said.
Mortlock-Malgas said that the department has resorted to sending SAPS officials to accompany social workers who feel unsafe due to the increasing attack attempts in the province.
“The Department has had to request clients in hotspot areas who are able to, to come into local DSD offices should they require assistance from a social worker. Where a social worker needs to conduct home visits in a hotspot, they can only do so if accompanied by a SAPS vehicle, if there are available resources. The department also requests assistance from LEAP officers, where resources are available,” she said.
Social worker Nozibele Ndunge from Just Grace, an organisation assisting women and children who are abused, said there needs to be an awareness in communities about the role of social workers.
“We are not threats to the community. We are merely doing our jobs and trying to assist. There is this misconception that social workers take children away from their parents, this is not the case. There needs to be awareness on what social workers actually do,” she said.
Dr Sandra Bredell, a social worker who continues to provide research on social work said social workers need better support.
“The work of a social worker is already an emotional job. Social workers have their own problems, but show up and support others in their agony. Imagine having your own problems and extending a hand to help others in theirs and then being attacked?
“Social workers suffer from a lack of compassion and fatigue. They also suffer from high levels of anxiety and frustrations,” she said.
Bredell said safety was lacking for social workers as police are often under-resourced and that urgency should be placed on the safety of social workers.
“Government must create an awareness on what a social worker is, what their role is and why communities should not see them as a threat,” she said.
Dr Memory Munodawafa from the South African Association for Social Workers in Private Practice said: “As the South African Association for Social Workers in Private Practice (SAASWIPP), we support our fellow social workers in the various sectors, especially the NPO, during this challenging time where they are faced with severe risk to their capacity to serve vulnerable clients and to earn a living”.