Further justice when victim meets offender

GEORGE NEWS - The Department of Correctional Services held a Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) imbizo at Thembalethu Community Hall in Zone 9 on Thursday 14 March.

According to the department's website, the VOD is a process in which the victim of a crime, or the surviving family members, and the offender who committed the offence meet face-to-face in a safe and secure setting. For certain victims / survivors of severe violence and violation, the facilitated VOD process can provide a pathway to a sense of further healing and further justice.

"Though this may not be for every survivor, the experience of talking directly with the offender who committed the violence or violation can enable survivors to give full voice to some of the pain and trauma they have experienced. At the same time, when offenders are able to listen and respond to them and to give voice to the complexity of feelings about what they have done, they can better understand the devastating effects of their behaviour, and how they came to be capable of such behaviour.

"VOD is not about forgiveness or reconciliation - unless that is absolutely and unequivocally what the survivor wants it to be about. The primary objective is for the survivor to feel heard, and for the offender to fully understand the effects of what he or she has done."

The imbizo was attended by various stakeholders within government and the community. During the event, a former offender shared his story, telling how he asked his victim for forgiveness through the VOD programme.

Lubabalo August, a former offender, shared how he asked for his victim's forgiveness.

A victim of crime also shared how she was left wheelchair-bound after being stabbed. Mavis Maphumulo was attacked by a man in 1998 while going to look for work with two friends. She said the man came out of nowhere and started stabbing them for no reason. The stabbing took the lives of the two other women.

"That incident changed my life and put me in a wheelchair for life. However, my life has improved since then. I have learned to deal with all that has happened to me and I even forgave the man who has done this to me, for I can't stay angry for the rest of my life," said Maphumulo.

Ndileka Booi, the Department of Correctional Services Southern Cape area commissioner, addresses the guests.