The DVA and the Victim Empowerment Programme

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The DVA and the Victim Empowerment Programme

• Gender Advocacy Programme (GAP)

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Origin of the VEP

• 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.

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What is the VEP?

• 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.

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Components of the VEP

• Training with Justice and SAPS officials to
  foster greater victim sensitivity.
• Victim support programme based on surveys of
  victims experiences of the criminal justice
  system.
• Provision of basic info to victims regarding the
  progress of cases as well as info that helps
  victims to lay complaints more easily.
• The DSD is the lead implementing agency, but
  works in collaboration with other depts such as
  Health, Justice, Correctional Services, SAPS and
  Education.

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Policy framework for VEP

• A. Service Charter for victims of crime outlines
  7 rights of victims
• 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)

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Policy framework for VEP

• 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)

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Policy framework for VEP

• 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.
  
• Uniform Protocol on Victim Empowerment seeks
  specifically to address the needs of victims of
  sexual offences and domestic violence.
• Integrated Victim Empowerment Policy provides
  guidelines i.t.o. the establishment, development
  and delivery of victim empowerment services.

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Problems with the VEP

• 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.

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Problems with the VEP

• 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.
•  

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Problems with the VEP

• 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.
•  

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Problems with the VEP

• 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.

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Problems with the VEP

• 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 ME 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.

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Recommendations

• 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.

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Recommendations

• 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.

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Thank you