**Threats to social workers in Cape Town: an alarming situation**
The City of Cape Town is experiencing a worrying situation where social workers have become the target of criminal syndicates demanding bribes disguised as “protection fees”.
Annemie van Reenen, Senior Director of Service Management and Coordination at the Western Cape Department of Social Development, reported at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Social Development in the provincial legislature that social workers in Delft had been threatened with extortion. These employees were faced with financial demands to guarantee their security while they travelled in the community. This is a worrying situation as the community has traditionally protected social workers.
Two recent incidents in Delft have highlighted this growing threat. Social workers, aware of the sensitive work tools they possess such as laptops and mobile phones, have become prime targets for criminals. This pressure on social workers not only affects their mental wellbeing, but also negatively impacts the communities that rely on their essential services.
In August, GroundUp reported on the province’s call for tougher penalties for those who attack social workers, following an alarming increase in attacks on them. The Department of Justice had been asked to make attacks on social workers an “offence against the state” with harsher legal consequences. However, no concrete response has yet been forthcoming.
Tsekiso Machike, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, told GroundUp that the letter had been received and that the minister was “looking into the matter” and was open to meeting with the Western Cape Social Development Committee.
Since 2019, the department has recorded 41 incidents, including six robberies and assaults, and 35 cases of carjacking or attempted carjacking. The majority of these incidents have occurred in less than a year and a half, according to the ministry’s data.
The worst-affected areas include Khayelitsha, Eerste River, Wynberg, Crossroads, Philippi, Mfuleni, Gugulethu, Delft, Mitchells Plain, Paarl East and Langa. Traumatised social workers sometimes have to be put on sick leave for six months or more, forcing urgent cases to be redistributed to other already overworked social workers.
Safety measures have been put in place, such as removing government markings from vehicles, changing number plates, sending multiple staff to risk areas at the same time, and holding regular meetings with community partnership forums.
Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service, Major General Thembisile Patekile, said after the meeting that this unprecedented situation is being taken very seriously and that it is crucial to act quickly to stem the tide.
The scale of the threats to social workers in Cape Town is a major challenge requiring an urgent response and a strong commitment from the authorities to protect those who provide essential services to the population.