Lesley-Ann van Selm, MD of Khulisa, one of the country’s most effective crime rehabilitation organisations, could have been forgiven if she had joined the chicken run after what happened in May this year.
Her daughter Jackie (21) was shot in the neck in a daylight hijacking outside her boyfriend’s Johannesburg home. A year ago Jackie was held up in her parents’ driveway.
”Her boyfriend lives in an affluent area with security, booms and patrol cars,” related Van Selm. ”They shot her twice; one bullet is still lodged on top of her spine, which was fractured.”
Jackie survived, but has been traumatised by the hijacking. Van Selm says her daughter may leave the country when the remaining bullet is removed from her spine at the end of the year.
But the incident has strengthened Van Selm’s determination to stay on and do something about crime. ”It was a very devastating experience for us. We had to draw on every bit of strength to continue with this work.”
Khulisa, Zulu for ”nurture”, is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to reducing crime in South Africa, where recidivism is exceptionally high with an estimated 80% of released offenders relapsing. Research shows that up to 70% of Khulisa graduates do not return to crime.
Founded in 1997 and working in partnership with departments such as correctional services, education, social welfare and justice, Khulisa has a unique restorative justice programme, which includes bringing victims of serious crimes and their perpetrators face to face.
It is also active in providing development programmes for young offenders. ”Our children in South Africa are deprived of infrastructure in the communities. They’re deprived to a very large extent of supportive families, role modelling,” said Van Selm. ”They’re turning to crime because that is what they know and is shown to them. Many children are themselves victims of crime and abuse, and that is where we really need to start working.
”When you hear what has happened to these offenders, you can really understand why you need to intervene and why rehabilitation is so important.”
Van Selm urges the government to look at longer-term solutions, by introducing preventative programmes in crime-ridden communities. ”You have to stop children from entering crime,” she says.
Khulisa also aims to reintegrate offenders into society. ”One of the main reasons they return to lives of crime is that they’re not wanted back in their communities.”
But when crime gets as close to home as Jackie’s hijacking it tests even a committed person’s resolve. ”If I ever flirted with the temptation to say ‘oh well, damn it all, let’s just leave South Africa and go away’, it’s been now,” Van Selm said.
So how would restorative justice work if Jackie’s attackers were ever caught?
”First, I’d want to hear their story,” says Van Selm. ”When you hear perpetrators’ stories you can really understand why you need to intervene … and why it is so important for victims to hear why the offender committed the crime — even if they don’t forgive the offender.
”It has been empowering for me to work with offenders, and to understand that nothing happens without a reason.”