Charting progress, mapping the future

This report chapter details the historical development and implementation of restorative justice (RJ) in South Africa, tracing its evolution from early victim-offender mediation projects in the 1990s to the integration of community-based justice and government policy initiatives.

• South Africa's engagement with modern international restorative justice began in 1992 with NICRO establishing the country's first victim-offender mediation (VOM) project in Cape Town. This project utilized Zehr's model of restorative justice and targeted referrals at pre-trial and pre-sentence stages, though it faced challenges such as prosecutor reluctance to refer serious cases and a perceived 'elitist' nature because it primarily served those who were "employed, committing first minor offences and leading a stable life".
• Various specialized restorative justice initiatives were launched in the mid-to-late 1990s, including a Survivor-Offender Mediation (SOM) network in 1995 intended to complement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and a pilot project on Family Group Conferencing (FGC) established in Pretoria in 1996 by an Inter-Ministerial Committee for Young People at Risk. The SOM network eventually closed due to a lack of funding after the TRC concluded.
• The Restorative Justice Centre (RJC), founded in Pretoria in 1998, aimed to build capacity for RJ and later launched a Victim-Offender Conferencing (VOC) pilot project in 1999. This project sought to create a model aligned with "African customary values" by involving community members and supporters of both the victim and offender, with some referrals coming from tribal authorities in Odi, North West Province.
• A 'non-state justice' sector emerged from street committees and community court projects, particularly in the Western Cape, as a grassroots alternative to the criminal justice system. Examples include the Community Court in Gugulethu and the Community Peace Programme in Zwelethemba, the latter of which uses 'peace-making' and 'peace-building' committees to resolve disputes through apologies, restitution, and compensation without requiring direct admissions of guilt.
• The South African government has expressed theoretical openness to restorative justice, co-sponsoring basic principles on its use at a UN commission in April 2000. However, critics like Tshehla argue that the government lacks a "common understanding across all departments" regarding its definition and practice, noting that a lack of coordination was "embarrassingly apparent" during a 2002 conference.
• Restorative justice has been integrated into professional training and academia in South Africa. This includes the Durban Institute of Technology incorporating conferencing into its child and youth care degree, and the requirement of restorative justice study for criminology degrees since 2003. Additionally, the Justice College has included RJ presentations in courses for prosecutors and magistrates since 2004.

APA

Skelton, A., & Batley, M. (n.d.). Charting progress, mapping the future. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHARTINGPROGCHAP3.PDF

Chicago

Skelton, Ann, and Mike Batley. Charting progress, mapping the future. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHARTINGPROGCHAP3.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Skelton |first1=Ann |last2=Batley |first2=Mike |title=Charting progress, mapping the future |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHARTINGPROGCHAP3.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{skeltonndcharting, author = {Skelton, Ann and Batley, Mike}, title = {{Charting progress, mapping the future}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CHARTINGPROGCHAP3.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }