Dear Minister Lamola

I am concerned about the absence of Victim Empowerment and Support Centres that are Victim friendly, easily accessible, cost free and allow the victims to walk in anytime time they need help( Psycho, Social Work , Spiritual services etc) as compared to the Support services that the Offenders are getting from Psychologist, Social Workers and CIO from inside the centre on their rehabilitation Process.

.SAPS Victim rooms are there for the Victims on the process of laying a charge,but not conducive for Victims to walk in anytime they need help as Victims

.NPA Thuthuzela Care Centres Victim Assistant Officers are there in hospitals, designed for medical examination and counseling,but not conducive for Victims to walk in anytime they need help concerning them as Victims

.NPA Court Preparation Officers are there in Courts for Victims during court proceedings,but also not conducive for Victims to go for any kind of help during the healing process

.DSD Social workers are in town or complexes,not easily accessible,and offices are not even Victim friendly at some stage because they do their office work
.DSD NGOs doesn't have objectives to journey with Victims e.g FAMSA is busy with family matters, though they can assist and give counseling ,they busy with foster care grants etc

.DCS Social Auxiliary Workers are there in parole boards , doing intervention to Victims when the Offender profile is submitted for parole consideration,not conducive to Victims to visit the DCS SAW.

My concern is that where is the stakeholder that has to journey with the victims and help them to embark on their journey of healing after being harmed by Offenders when DCS journey with Offenders traveling up and down to Matric Awards,Funda Mzansi,Ubuntu projects etc doing whatever to Rehabilitate .Where is the entity that listen to the need of the Victims and monitor the services rendered as JICS do to the Offenders.

Victims has to cope on their own,other Victims use their money to look for help, others endup using drugs and alcohol to cope ,the Offenders that harmed them are getting the services free of charge.

It is good that offenders are rehabilitated instead of getting rebutive punishment with the best supporting structure of DCS from centre level to ministerial level and JICS,but it is confusing to see that the victims that they harmed are helpless ,there is not even a structure that Supports them after being harmed by offenders when the Offenders are getting support on the Offender Rehabilitation Path.

The National Policy Guidelines for Victim Empowerment is there with all structures from National level to Local level and strategies to support the victims,but those structures doesn't exist.

The Social Development Victim Support Bill (2020) identified the problem of lack of Victim Empowerment and Support and state the responsibility to all stakeholders but somewhere, somehow there is no practical implementation.

According to my view what the Bill emphasis in clause 10 and clause 14 is not yet implemented because Victims of crime and violence are still helpless , unsupported and untreated in any way,not even the system to know the whereabouts of the Victims,DCS has to trace the victims instead of getting the victims from the stakeholder that is supporting the victims.DCS sits with an Offender on Victim involvement/ Restorative Justice/VOD with an Offender's profile (G326) that is packed with proofs of reports from all role players(Psychologist, Social Workers, Spiritual workers,CIOs) to show that they were supported and rehabilitated while there is no proof of intervention done to the victims.

If clause 14 of the Bill was implemented why Victims are still traced by DCS officials and fetched by DCS officials ,sit on the VODs session with Offender without any official from the victim Support side( refer to VODs televised on YOBE).I think the Restorative Justice is still criminal proceedings that DOJ need to assist DCS to ensure that Victims are treated with dignity during the process, because according to my view if the correctional services car is looking arround for the address of the victim asking arround who is so and so that might not be good for the victims at some point because if the victim relocated because of the crime and didn't want to be known by the community.If DCS can call or visit the victim of the Offender that was sentenced 20 years back and not supported , didn't disclose that he or she was raped or sexually indecented at the later stage get partner and never disclose to the partner or children what would happen to the life of the victim after that.

I believe that if the criminal justice system stakeholders can mobilise on both the victims and Offenders it will help the country to eliminate crime and GBVF bec some of criminals are results of untreated Victims,and it will wipeout the public perception that the democratic government is in favour of criminals than Victims.

Regards