Good practice

Thuthuzela Care Centres — Integrated One-Stop Sexual Violence Support, South Africa

South Africa · Pretoria · See the South Africa profile

South Africa's Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) co-locate police, medical, legal and psychosocial services for sexual-violence survivors. Since 2006, 66+ centres serve 44,000+ survivors annually, achieving conviction rates of 77–89% vs a 72.5% national average.

66+

Centres operating

44,000+

Survivors served (per year)

77–89%

Conviction rate at centres

72.5%

National average conviction rate

Thuthuzela Care Centres — Integrated One-Stop Sexual Violence Support, South Africa

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: National Prosecuting Authority — Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA)
Period: 2006–ongoing
Keywords: justice, public health, social services, government

Context

One-stop centres co-locating police, medical, legal and psychosocial services for sexual-violence survivors in South Africa, operating since 2006.

Results

66+ centres serve 44,000+ survivors a year and report conviction rates of 77–89%, above the 72.5% national average.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-23
National Prosecuting Authority — Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) — accessed 2026-06-23
NPA Thuthuzela Care Centres — accessed 2026-06-23
UNFPA — One-Stop Post-Rape Care — accessed 2026-06-23
IntechOpen academic review (2022) — accessed 2026-06-23
CGE Annual Report 2023/24 — accessed 2026-06-23

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 96/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 4% in this catalogue (719 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Transferability / replicability2/3

UNFPA has recognised TCCs as an international best-practice model for post-rape care; the design has been adapted in other African countries, demonstrating replication potential.

Impact on gender equality1/1

TCCs directly serve GBV survivors with co-located medical, legal and psychosocial support, reducing secondary victimisation and improving justice outcomes for a typically underserved population.

Effectiveness1/1

Conviction rates of 77–89% vs a 72.5% national average, and trial times cut from ~2 years to <7 months, provide objective evidence that the integrated model works.

Efficiency1/1

The one-stop model eliminates duplication across agencies, reduces case attrition, and shortens court timelines — a measurably more efficient use of justice and health resources than sequential services.

Evaluated outcomes1/1

NPA annual reports (Parliament of South Africa), UNFPA field assessment, and an IntechOpen peer-reviewed study (2022) independently document TCC outcomes.

Sustainability1/1

TCCs have grown from a pilot to 66 nationally mandated centres since 2006; they are embedded in government budgets, the NSP-GBVF, and sexual offences court infrastructure.

Achievement / evidence1/1

44,000+ survivors served annually; convictions rising from 1,426 (2022/23) to 3,697 (2024/25); reduced trial times — concrete, independently reported achievements.

Gender-mainstreaming embedding1/1

TCCs are specifically designed to address sexual violence against women, incorporate trauma-informed and survivor-centred protocols, and are a cornerstone of South Africa's NSP-GBVF.

Curator validation1/1

Recognised by UNFPA as international best practice; independently reviewed by IntechOpen (2022); reported annually to Parliament through NPA annual reports.

Cite this

Evidoria. Thuthuzela Care Centres — Integrated One-Stop Sexual Violence Support, South Africa. Persistent ID: 38883255-bdd5-4b4a-8979-f80085a134aa.

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