By the Correctional Services National Commissioner Zach Modise
The September 2015 report of the International Centre for Prison Studies on women incarceration trends in the world says, over the past 15 years, female inmate populations increased “sharply” and “faster” by about 50%, with the world median women incarceration rates standing at 4.4 per 100 thousand population.
In this regard, South Africa has been barking the international trend, with a decline of female inmate population by 8% between 2000 and 2015, from 3966 to 3029 in its 243 correctional facilities nationally.
Ideally, this narrative should find itself into the mainstream of the dialogue on how crime and corrections is handled in South Africa. However, the dominant negative narrative, mainly in the media, may leave a really bad taste in people’s mouths and undermine numerous collective societal, criminal justice system and correctional services efforts to build a safer and more humane environment.
South Africa is also making progress in a number of areas, including the progressive realisation of our constitutional, legislative and policy imperative, as well as in implementing various international protocols on the management of female inmate population. These international instruments include the much celebrated Nelson Mandela Rules, which are an amended and improved version of the UN Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners.
It should be noted that these assertions are not negating the reality that, a lot more still has to be done to attain the ideals enunciated in these strategic documents, and in transforming historically warehouses for inmates into rehabilitation friendly correctional centres that advance the promotion of human dignity.
However, reporting the remaining challenges as reflective of a failed system of corrections, is a disservice to the nation and inhibits quality conversation on corrections in South Africa.