Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

More documents

Recommendations

Info

AssaultAs part of their mission statement, the Department ofCorrectional Services commits itself to the safe custodyof prisoners.Yet, at many of the prisons, the children seem to livein fear,At Leeuwkop, almost every inmate mentioned his fearof something happening to him. Some of them feltthe 'binneplaas' (courtyard) is not safe: 'anything canhappen'. Others spoke of the threat of assault and. rape. Three said they had been raped by others inthe prison. Others said they had witnessed rapes,sodomy, assaults and stabbings. As mentionedearlier, one child had a black eye which he said hadbeen inflicted by a cell mate. Others are forced todo work by older cell mates, and sometimes bygangs. Many of the fights are instigated by gangs.At the Westville Youth Centre, the staff said thatassault by fellow prisoners was a major problem,but its extent is difficult to assess. The staff thoughtthat it happened during the afternoon lock up andat night, although the children deny it. The staff saidthat they separate the children by age and keep the14 and 15 year olds together and separate from the16 and 17 year olds and that, despite this, there aremany assaults. They say their only means of controlis to remove the television.It seems that the children will come forward wheninjured but will not give the name of the assailant. Theresearcher at this prison checked the complaints book:"assault by unknown prisoner" was a frequent entry.The Head of the Youth Centre has a collection ofweapons made from sharpened toothbrushes, glass,razor blades tied together with plastic bags, metalplates from the soles of shoes, the inside of a doorlock etc.At Westville Women's Prison, the juveniles say they arenot abused or assaulted by anybody. There is occasionalfighting amongst the inmates, but this is rare. It is alsoalleged that there is no access to weapons, althoughthe female prisoners do sometimes have or makeweapons. Searches only occur if something is suspected,and there are no regular searches for contraband orweapons. It was reported that the warders do roundsapproximately twice a night. They remain withinearshot so that they can be called in an emergency.
Rape and forced sodomy"Every child has the right... to be protected frommaltreatment, neglect, abuse, or degradation; ...tobe protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse, ordegradation..." (SA CONSTITUTION, SECTION28)"Everyone has the right to freedom and security ofthe person which includes the right to be free from allforms of violence from either private or publicsources. "' (SA CONSTITUTION, SECTION 12)"During sleeping hours there should be regular,unobtrusive supervision of all sleeping areas, includingindividual rooms and group dormitories, in order toensure the protection of each juvenile. " (UN RULES 33)Rape or forced sodomy is a major problem in manyprisons. At Leeuwkop, if a rape is reported, the-victimis removed, although the boys say this may only befor a 'very short period of time.' According to theauthorities, the perpetrator is removed from the cell andthe victim attended by a social worker or psychologist.However, although many prisoners said they had beenvictims of sodomy and rape, few had any contact witha social worker.Very often, the problem occurs when children comeinto contact with older juveniles or adults.One of the boys at Pretoria Central said he had beenraped twice by someone in the adult section of theprison. He had been put there, he said, because thewarders did not believe he was a juvenile. After hecomplained of the rape, he was transferred back tothe juvenile section, and the rapist was disciplined.At Pollsmoor, the social workers said that 'sodomyhappens every week', but is often not reported. If itdoes finally get reported, it is usually by a third party.Sometimes an anonymous, letter is received. Whenthe victim is called in by the prison warders and askedabout the incident, he often admits he has beensodomised. The offender is then moved into a cell'with other hardened offenders who are not preparedto cooperate'. A Pollsmoor, juveniles who are 'difficult'or need to be punished are sent to H cell.The warders must then decide whether to lay acharge. If a charge is laid, the offender is.sent backto the Admission Centre while his case is finalised. Atsome of the prisons, such as Stanger, measurestaken by warders to safeguard the younger prisoners
Page 2 and 3: • ContentsINTRODUCTION 1ACKNOWLED
Page 4 and 5: almost certainly because they tear
Page 6 and 7: Figure 2 gives a breakdown of child
Page 8 and 9: THANKS ARE DUE TO:The children and
Page 10: .Ekuseni Youth CentreThe Ekuseni Yo
Page 13 and 14: 1• Definition of Children andJuve
Page 15 and 16: age of 18 with their own age groups
Page 17 and 18: Dedicated facilities for JuvenilesT
Page 19 and 20: At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre,
Page 21 and 22: Separation of sentenced and unsente
Page 23: Beds and bedding"Every juvenile sho
Page 26: At Pietersburg, the researcher was
Page 29 and 30: are virtually unoccupied for long p
Page 31 and 32: At Rustenburg, a qualified, nurse i
Page 33 and 34: At Pretoria Central, a new prison,
Page 35 and 36: offers them a 'good opportunity of
Page 37: The South African Constitution ensh
Page 40 and 41: Leeuwkop were extremely demotivated
Page 42 and 43: trial- are the responsibility of th
Page 44: Where programmes are jn placeIn som
Page 47: At Westville Youth Centre, there is
Page 50 and 51: VIOLENCE IN PRISONS
Page 54 and 55: of 24, sometimes without even a tel
Page 56 and 57: "Personnel should be qualified and
Page 58 and 59: the night at 3pm. In some instituti
Page 60 and 61: the ages of 15 and 17. In an emerge
Page 62 and 63: Generally, serious problems are ref
Page 64 and 65: Alternatively, if a charge is to be
Page 66 and 67: One of the consistent patterns that
Page 68 and 69: Often children say that they are, n
Page 70 and 71: the names of their lawyers. Three o
Page 72 and 73: Bail"Every child has the right not
Page 74 and 75: Postponements and finalisation of c
Page 76 and 77: Figure 7 shows the length of senten
Page 78 and 79: How the Children are Cared For8. An
Page 80: Trial40. Parents or guardians shoul

Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?