South African NGO Furthers the Implementation of Restorative Justice

Khulisa’s staff includes a large number of former offenders and program graduates, in addition to other educators, trainers and social workers.  This partnership results in an elicitive approach to program development, as the staff members use their personal knowledge of the justice system in order to design appropriate projects and activities. Many facilitators become role models for the young people, which Managing Director Lesley Ann van Selm says is a unique aspect of the group’s work in prisons, schools, and disadvantaged communities around South Africa.  

For example, Ben Brown is now the organization's prison project coordinator.  A victim of abuse, he became involved in robbery and guns as a teenager and was caught and sentenced to eight years in prison.  Brown was the first person to enroll in Khulisa's programs when it started in 1997, and he benefited especially from the writing program.  Expressing himself on paper helped him work through problems in his life and change his focus.  Now he works for Khulisa and sees his efforts as a way to repay the community for the harm he caused.  Brown says, "I go every Thursday to one of our biggest prisons to ... facilitate programs like creative writing, drama, meditation, public speaking, business skills, leadership skills.” 

Another ex-convict, Mondli, entered prison for eight years at age 16 for doing drugs, and is now a coordinator on Khulisa's drug awareness project in Meadowlands, Soweto.  Meanwhile, AIDS awareness programs are presented in juvenile prisons around South Africa.  Khulisa programs follow the South African National Qualifications Framework and have undergone accreditation with the SA Qualifications Authority.  Furthermore, the programs are designed to be adaptable for various cultural and linguistic settings, as well as different levels of literacy.   

Khulisa bases its program on principles of restorative justice, which makes its work consistent with developments in the official adoption of restorative justice in South Africa.  All probation officers now receive training in restorative justice and the prison service has adopted it as its official policy for three years.  South African media have covered this groundbreaking aspect of Khulisa’s work, showcasing mediations in which victims find healing through interaction with their offenders and offenders demonstrate remorse and acceptance of responsibility.  The meetings take place after release and have included crimes committed by a violent robber, a young rapist, a car hijacker, and a woman who sold off her mother’s jewels to feed a drug addiction.<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[i] <!--[endif]-->   

Khulisa  holds that restorative principles go beyond settling crime related conflicts to address the underlying issues that lead to criminal activity.  Therefore, youth and community development in disadvantaged areas, and rehabilitation and reintegration for young offenders, feature highly in the organization's work. Examples include:

• The MIB (Make It Better) Program multiplies community-based crime prevention projects by training out of school youth to develop capacity building and developmental skills.  Some of the activities the young leaders have designed have been replicated in other parts of the country. 

• New Directions is a series of eight workshops delivered to first-time young offenders as a diversion program, promoting a holistic range of positive life skills, activities and support.  Restorative justice is the topic for one of the sections.  A similarly conceived intervention program, Primary Matters, reaches out to the older children of primary schools. 

• Discovery is a year-long in-prison program for selected prisoners.  It focuses extensively on personal development, and part of the exploration involves looking at making amends to victims, their family and the community.  Another program, Destinations, helps ex-offenders network to secure job and training opportunities upon their release.  Family and community reintegration are key components in reducing the likelihood of a return to crime. 

According to Khulisa, the organization has worked with thousands of prison inmates and young offenders. 67 program graduates released over a two year period were tracked to test their adjustment to life outside of prison. 80% of this sample had developed self-sustaining situations.

 

 

 

Sources used:

http://www.khulisaservices.co.za/

http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/social_delivery/khulisa-190104.htm

http://www.rnw.nl/development/html/khulisa021107.html

http://www.imc.org.za/2003/dec12_crime.stm

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1030/p01s04-woaf.htm

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=263244

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=377322

<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--> [i]<!--[endif]--> The Star has published a number of stories on Khulisa casework in restorative justice:

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=50622

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=259208

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=258664

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=258665

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=259730

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=260712