Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP)
•VEP is one of the key programmes of the National Crime
Prevention Strategy (launched in January 1999).
•Four pillars of the national Crime Prevention Strategy:
• Pillar 1: Making the criminal justice system more effective and efficient.
• Pillar 2: Reducing crime through environmental design.
• Pillar 3: Focusing on public values and education.
• Pillar 4: Reducing cross-border criminal activity.
•VEP is one of 9 programmes of Pillar 1.
•An inter-sectoral, inter-departmental programme that seeks to
promote a victim-centred approach to crime prevention.
•Seeks to develop services and programmes for victims of crime
and violence to minimise the effects of crime on victims.
•VEP has a targeted focus on women and children, and is based
on the principle that the roles and rights of the victim are
central to addressing the effects of crime.
Training with Justice and SAPS officials to foster greater
victim sensitivity.
2. Victim support programme based on surveys of victims’
experiences of the criminal justice system.
3. Provision of basic info to victims regarding the progress of
cases as well as info that helps victims to lay complaints
more easily.
1.
The DSD is the lead implementing agency, but works in
collaboration with other depts such as Health, Justice,
Correctional Services, SAPS and Education.
A. Service Charter for victims of crime outlines 7 rights of
victims:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for dignity
and privacy
The right to offer information (participate in criminal justice
proceedings – i.e. bail hearings, trial, sentencing, Parole Board
hearings)
The right to receive information (re own rights, available services,
role in and status of case, prosecutor to inform employer of
proceedings)
The right to protection (being free from intimidation, harassment
and having access to witness protection)
5. The right to assistance (access to legal, social, health and counseling
services)
6. The right to compensation (for loss or damage to property)
7. The right to restitution (where unlawfully dispossessed of goods /
damage to property)
B.
The Minimum Standards for Service Delivery in Victim
Empowerment defines services standards and makes special
provisions for victims of domestic violence i.t.o. shelters, safety
and security, healthcare, and access to education for children.
B.
Uniform Protocol on Victim Empowerment seeks specifically to
address the needs of victims of sexual offences and domestic
violence.
B.
Integrated Victim Empowerment Policy provides guidelines i.t.o.
the establishment, development and delivery of victim
empowerment services.
•On the whole, women do not know their rights in terms of the
access to services that domestic violence complainants are
entitled to.
•The component of the VEP that deals with training justice and
police officials to introduce greater victim sensitivity is
ineffectual and needs to be reassessed.
•The component of the VEP that deals with the provision of
basic information to complainants regarding the progress of all
cases as well as information that allows complainants to lay
complaints more easily is not functioning as it should.
The 7 rights of victims outlined in the Service Charter for
Victims of Crime in South Africa are not being realised:
•W.r.t. the right to be treated with fairness and respect for dignity and
privacy, complainants are often subjected to secondary victimisation
by the lack of dignity afforded them by Government officials.
•W.r.t. the right to offer information, many women are denied this
right by not beinggivenan opportunity to participate in criminal
justice proceedings such as bail, trial sentencing and parole board
hearings.
•W.r.t. the right to receive information, many women are not informed
of their rights in their language of choice, are not informed of
available services, their role in the case, the projected duration of the
case, the status of the case and of their right to have the prosecutor
inform their employer of their absence from work.
•W.r.t. the right to protection which entails being free from
intimidation and harassment, inadequate resource allocation
currently reduces this right to existing only on paper without any real
means of its practical enforcement.
•W.r.t. the right to assistance such as access to social, health,
counselling and legal services, much documented evidence exists of
the extent to which this right has been violated.
•W.r.t. the right of victims of violent crime to compensation, many
women are still unable to access compensation for loss of or damage to
their property.
•W.r.t. the right to restitution, many women have been denied
restitution where they have unlawfully been dispossessed of their
goods and/ or property.
•While the Minimum Standards for Service Delivery in Victim
Empowerment defines acceptable service levels and standards,
Government service delivery appears to be largely oblivious to these
stipulations.
•Secondary victimisation is not defined in the Victims’ Charter nor the
Minimum Standards.
•The Uniform Protocol on Victim Empowerment and the Integrated
Victim Empowerment Policy lack monitoring.
•The VEP currently does not have an M&E strategy.
•There is a need for Victim Empowerment legislation.
•Need to re-assess the grant-making process – e,g, shelters are unable
to apply for grants as they are not considered a “direct service”.
•Assessment of policy provisions and addressing the
impediments to implementation of these provisions.
•Need for greater inter-sectoral collaboration to maximize the
impact of VEP.
•Adequate resource allocation to give effect to policy provisions.
•Assessment and improvement of service delivery by SAPS and
DoJ.
•Victim Empowerment legislation.
•Creating a victim friendly legal system, including support for legal
professionals in integrating victim support into legal service.
•Need for appropriate, adequate healthcare.
•Meeting basic needs of victims to avoid secondary victimisation (e.g.
transport, shelter).
•Recognise the needs of secondary victims (e.g. children).
•Re-assess funding criteria for VEP grants to civil society organisations.