Monograph 137: Quality Services Guaranteed? A Review of Victim Policy in South Africa, Cheryl Frank
In the context of significant developments in the
international arena relating to the recognition of rights relating to
crime victims, this monograph seeks to analyse three of the central
policy efforts relating to crime victims in South Africa. The documents
that are the focus of this monograph are: the Service Charter for
Victims of Crime in South Africa (more commonly known as the Victims’
Charter); the draft Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) and the
National Prosecuting Authority’s draft Uniform Protocol on Victim
Management (UPVM). The findings are based on a series of interviews
with key informants from both government and civil society and well an
analysis of relevant documentation.
The monograph proceeds from the premise that measures to respond to
victimisation should be based on the needs of crime victims. The needs
crime victims are explored in some depth, recognising that needs may be
material (e.g. medical costs), practical (e.g. the need for
information or for safety); and emotional (e.g. the need for
validation), and that they cannot be responded to without recognising
that each person’s experience of victimisation is unique. The
subjective experience of victimisation is particularly emphasised,
while also recognising that poverty and social isolation may magnify
the effects of victimisation.
The international framework relating to crime victimisation is
discussed, pointing particularly to the provisions in the United
Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime
and Abuse of Power, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is also observed that regional
instruments such as the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development,
the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights also strengthen the
international framework for crime victims.
The discussion then turns to South Africa, with an overview of crime
victimisation in the country. The discussion focused particularly the
high levels of victimisation, and the specific vulnerability of women
and children. This discussion is followed by an overview of key
legislation relating to crime victimisation.
The discussion of the key provisions of the three policy documents
under review is prefaced by a short introduction which describes the
four central reasons forwarded for the development of victim policy in
South Africa. These are: crime prevention, improving criminal
justice efficiency, human rights and restorative justice. The central
provisions of the three policy documents under review are then
described. This is followed by a brief discussion of the range of
government programmes aimed at the delivery of services to crime
victims. Most critically, this section notes that the main instrument
that claims to provide rights to crime victims (the Victims’ Charter)
cannot be accepted as providing rights at this stage due to its status,
and only seeks to confer rights on those crime victims that engage
with the criminal justice system.
The next part of the monograph seeks to provide an analysis of the
three policy documents. The discussion notes that the status of all
three documents and their relationship to each other is unclear. It is
further observed that the three policy documents do not share the same
theory or rationale for existence. In exploring the extent to which the
three policy documents seek to respond to the needs of crime victims,
the weaknesses of the Victims’ Charter are discussed again, in terms of
its recognition only of crime victims in the criminal justice system.
The Victims’ Charter is also criticised for the ways in which the rights
conferred are limited and qualified, and its generally reactive
orientation. In contrast, the broader orientation of the Victim
Empowerment Programme is recognised, as is its focus on responding to
the needs of victims. Its identification of the roles of the different
government service-providers is recognised as positive and useful. The
Uniform Protocol on Victim Management is noted for its efforts to make
provisions relating to specific crime categories. However, the fact
that it provides minimum standards in the context of the other sets of
minimum standards that accompany the two other policies under review
makes its implementation confusing to service-providers. The issue of
setting standards for service–delivery is discussed in some detail,
forwarding the view that the usefulness of such standards depends on
the extent to which they are constructed to be measurable.
The three policies are also examined in terms of the extent to which
their provisions target and provide specialised interventions; the
extent to which the notion of restorative justice is harnessed and the
extent to which new kinds of crime victimisation (e.g. electronic
crime) are responded to.
The monograph continues on to a discussion of the key challenges to
the implementation of victim policy. Here, the so-called ‘partnership’
between government and civil society in the delivery of services is
discussed, together with an assessment of the central funding issues
facing this sector. This discussion also explores the reliance on
volunteers, as well as some of the current strengths and weaknesses in
direct services to victims. The role of civil society in ensuring
government accountability for services is also discussed, especially in
the context of civil society organisations also playing a central role
in the provision of services. This discussion is concluded with a
description of the key tools required to aid in the implementation of
victim services.
The monograph is concluded with a set of recommendations. These
include: rationalise victim policy and clearly articulate its
importance; orientate services towards the needs of victims; improve
government and civil society relations and government funding to civil
society; ensure the quality of services and establish the tools and
systems for managing victim policy.
The monograph recognises that the advent of victim policy in South
Africa is a critical step towards harnessing both the human rights and
crime prevention benefits that services to victims may offer. It
cautions, however, that victim policy is only good as the services that
it creates; and that it is the quality of services that will result in
these benefits and not merely access to these services.
