The Department of Social Development has unveiled the National Emergency Response Team (NERT)‚ a mobile service that consists of social workers and psychologists specialising in trauma counselling, to counter the relentless scourge of violence against women and children. The team is deployed through a 24-hour Gender Based Violence Command Centre and provides trauma counselling in the privacy of survivors’ homes. The team — accessible through a toll-free line 0800 428 428 or through a Please Call Me on mobile networks sent to *120*7867# — also monitors cases reported in the media for immediate intervention. The centre can handle more than 1‚500 calls a day. Deputy Social Development Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu‚ who unveiled the programme in Pretoria on Tuesday‚ said an enhanced command centre would soon be launched that would enable deaf women and children to access the centre’s services. She said the enhanced centre would equip vulnerable people such as the elderly and women w...
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