Why victims refuse to visit SA prisons for parole hearings…

The latest Governance, Public Safety and Justice Survey (GPSJS) 2024-2025 data reveals a damning truth about South Africa’s correctional system: victim fear and profound cynicism are undermining the parole process.

While a large majority of victims (80.9%) who were informed of a hearing chose to participate, the most frequent reason households gave for refusing to attend parole hearings was plain old fear – they simply did not want to go to prison facilities (21.7%).

Why victims skip South Africa’s parole hearings…

This finding – which also included data about marriage and reintegration of ex-offenders – confirms that the physical environment and atmosphere of correctional facilities actively deter victims from engaging in the system meant to grant them closure.

Furthermore, nearly one-in-six non-participating households (15.9%) reported skipping the process because they did not think it would make a difference. This sentiment highlights deep-seated scepticism regarding the fairness or efficacy of the parole process itself.

The GPSJS 2024-2025, which provides data on households’ experience and perceptions of correctional services, shows that only 3.1% of households surveyed were victims of crime where the perpetrator was ultimately incarcerated. Of those relevant households, 36.0% indicated that the accused person had been released on parole.

Victims not informed about hearings

However, the communication system is barely hanging together. Just over half of the households affected (54.7%) were informed of the parole hearing in the first place. This lack of engagement feeds the system’s trust deficit.

Overall household satisfaction with how correctional services grant parole to offenders stands at a low of just 35.1%.

It seems clear the state is failing to bridge the gap between incarceration and accountability, if victims are too scared to face the institution where justice is being served, and they lack confidence in the process itself