Month/Date |
23 – 24 February 2023 |
Location |
Garden Court Hotel, OR Tambo, Johannesburg |
Beneficiaries |
Female offenders |
Funding Source |
UNODC |
Project |
Amendment of Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977: Introduction to non- custodial measures for adult offenders |
Partners |
Department of Justice, NPA SOCA, Callas Foundation, Department of Social Development, Department of Health, Department of Correctional Services, SAPS, Academia, NGOs |
Dr Linda Naidoo from UNODC ROSAF opened the floor with an introduction on ‘WICL: A gender-responsive approach’. Her presentation addressed, amongst others, the following issues:
Fig 2: Some of the panelists: Advocate Naidoo (NPA SOCA), Dr Pelmos Mashabela (DCS), Mr Thapelo Segai Mampshika (University of Limpopo) and Ms Caroline Peters (Callas Foundation)
Ms Caroline Peters, GBV expert, gave feedback on the pilot project, Non-custodial Measures for Women in Conflict with the Law, an initiative of the UNODC and championed by the Callas Foundation. Other partners included the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD), and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). The project was launched in Athlone, Western Cape, and supports alternatives to prison for women who commit minor, non-violent offences. The project is now implemented in Limpopo and is soon to be implemented in KZN.
Advocate Masinga and the team shared a presentation of the first Gender Responsive Correctional Centre for Incarcerated Women in South Africa that was launched in December 2022 in Atteridgeville, Pretoria.
Prof Annette van der Merwe presented the Discussion Paper and shared a case study of a woman called Zenobia Jacobs. Over the two days various topics were introduced such as Prosecutorial Diversion, Family group conferences, and victim-offender mediation. Each topic was discussed by all participants and feedback was shared. One of the last items was the validation of the Final Draft.
The Presentation of the Draft Discussion Paper and contributions of the group of multi-sectoral participants contributed greatly towards realising gender-responsive, non-custodial measures for women in South Africa.