Note: SAPS does not publish a real-time, station-level VFR database. The figures below come from parliamentary questions, the NSP Five-Year Review (March 2026), and media reports. Operational status for individual stations is self-reported by SAPS and has not been independently verified. Gaps in the data are part of the accountability problem.
What the Law Requires
- Every police station must have a dedicated room for interviewing survivors of sexual offences, domestic violence, and related crimes in privacy (National Instruction 3 of 2008; Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998).
- The room must be equipped and accessible to the public, separated from general police functions, and staffed by a trained Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit officer or a trained first responder.
- SAPS must report annually to the Portfolio Committee on Police on the status of VFRs at all stations (NSP requirement, reiterated in Presidential Directive 4 of 29 September 2026).
- Presidential Directive 4 (29 September 2026) required SAPS to publish a full station-level VFR audit within 60 days. That deadline falls on 28 November 2026.
347
Non-functional or absent
Sources
- South African Police Service response to Parliamentary Question NW2834, Portfolio Committee on Police, 2025
- NSP Five-Year Review March 2026: Pillar 1 indicator reporting on Thuthuzela Care Centres and VFR availability
- Presidential Directive 4 of 29 September 2026 (issued by the President at the GBV Summit)
- Parliamentary Monitoring Group: Written reply on VFR status by province (2025)
- Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust: "Stations without Victim Friendly Rooms" audit, 2024
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR): VFR compliance review, 2023