The Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum has begun piloting safe zones to support children affected by violence in Cape Town's Cape Flats.
The forum, established in 2026 with the Western Cape Government and the Department of Police Oversight and Community, has rolled out the zones in Beacon Valley, Montrose Park and Strandfontein. Additional sites are planned for Rocklands and Tafelsig.
The zones offer supervised spaces during high-risk periods, aftercare, homework support and skills development. The forum stated that violence shapes how children play, learn and trust, and that community systems must become trauma-informed.
Edith Kriel of Jelly Beanz and Marguerite Holtzhausen of the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture stressed the need for community involvement in support programmes. They noted limited access to specialist services for children exposed to crime.
