CHARTING PROGRESS, MAPPING THE FUTURE

The report identifies a fragmented landscape of restorative justice in South Africa, where significant activity exists in pockets—particularly within probation services and specific NGOs like NICRO—but is severely hampered by inconsistent funding and a lack of systemic integration. While the authors argue that restorative justice is a philosophy rather than a specific program, they find that implementation varies widely by province, with some regions showing stronger collaboration between traditional leaders and the formal judiciary. The document concludes that the state should act as an enabler, resourcer, and guarantor of quality, while civil society should lead direct service delivery to ensure community accountability and democratic empowerment.

• Restorative justice in South Africa is characterized by 'pockets of good activity', but these efforts are insufficient to meet actual needs and are 'seriously hampered' by the absence of proper funding arrangements.
• Probation services are currently the most active sector in implementing restorative justice, largely due to a strategic training program funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy from August 2004 to March 2006.
• The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) shows very little implementation of restorative justice despite high-level policy commitments; existing efforts are often driven by individual practitioners or NPOs and are sometimes overly associated with Christian chaplains.
• NICRO is identified as the largest and most organized civil society organization practicing restorative justice nationally, with offices in all nine provinces and a strong focus on Family Group Conferences (FGCs) for children.
• African traditional justice systems are recognized as containing elements of restorative justice, though there is often a 'unidirectional' relationship where traditional authorities refer cases to the formal system, but rarely receive referrals back.
• Victim-support services exhibit the lowest level of integration and implementation of restorative justice, which is concerning given that victims are central to the conceptualization of the approach.
• The authors propose a model where the state serves as an 'enabler, resourcer, and guarantor of quality practice', while civil society handles direct service delivery to maintain community accountability and flexibility.
• There is a critical need for practice standards to prevent harmful outcomes and ensure human rights; the authors advocate for a 'bottom-up value clarification' process similar to that used in New Zealand.
• In Gauteng, the implementation of restorative justice is described as 'uneven', with strong established organizations like the RJC and Khulisa contrasting with smaller NGOs that collapsed after funding from the Open Society Foundation ceased.
• The report highlights that the Child Justice Bill is expected to significantly increase the demand for diversion services, with estimates suggesting a rise from 18,523 cases to between 60,000 and 74,229 diversions per year.

APA

Skelton, A., & Batley, M. (2006). CHARTING PROGRESS, MAPPING THE FUTURE. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Book2006ChartProgress.pdf

Chicago

Skelton, Ann, and Mike Batley. CHARTING PROGRESS, MAPPING THE FUTURE. Institute for Security Studies, 2006. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Book2006ChartProgress.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Skelton |first1=Ann |last2=Batley |first2=Mike |title=CHARTING PROGRESS, MAPPING THE FUTURE |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2006 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Book2006ChartProgress.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{skelton2006charting, author = {Skelton, Ann and Batley, Mike}, title = {{CHARTING PROGRESS, MAPPING THE FUTURE}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2006}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Book2006ChartProgress.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }