PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth CommissionsA Brief Evaluation of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Some Lessons for Societies in TransitionIn a large country with many rural inhabitants, to merely document all the gross violations of human rights that occurred under apartheid and to simply provide the space to thousands of victims to recount the stories of their abuse, all within a time frame of just two years, would require a superhuman effort. It remains possible and is fundamentally important,… Read More Graeme SimpsonOctober 1, 1998
PublicationsResearchTransitional Justice, Truth CommissionsThe South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Community ResolutionThis paper attempts to provide some understanding of the role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in promoting reconciliation within the community of Duduza. While the TRC does not have a specific mandate to advance local reconciliation, it has defined its role as building a foundation for reconciliation in South Africa. In order to understand the future of reconciliation… Read More Hugo van der MerweOctober 1, 1998
PublicationsResearchCriminal Justice, PolicingTowards a Strategy for Prevention: The Occurrence of Deaths in Custody or as a Result of Police Action in Gauteng, April-December 1997This report goes beyond simply looking at the circumstances of occurrence of police custody/action deaths in Gauteng and attempts to provide the framework for a strategy which would aim to assist in the prevention of these deaths, with the intention that the rate of these deaths be reduced dramatically in the medium term. The report is therefore intended to stimulate… Read More David BruceJuly 2, 1998
PublicationsResearchAuthoritarian Past, Transitional Justice, Victim Support GroupsLiving with the Legacy of Impunity: Lessons for South Africa about Truth, Justice and Crime in BrazilThis article focuses on how Brazil dealt with and failed to deal with its authoritarian past, and what lessons this experience may hold for South Africa. The central focus is on victim support groups in both countries and examines their primary concerns: their need for the truth and their demands for justice. The experiences of Brazil in these areas are… Read More Brandon HamberJuly 2, 1998
PublicationsResearchCriminal Justice, Gender-based Violence, PolicingTo Protect and Abuse: An Exploratory Study Discussing Intimate Partners of Police as Victims of Domestic AbuseThe purpose of this paper is three-fold: to describe the problem of domestic abuse in police families within the context of domestic abuse in South Africa; to highlight particular aspects of domestic abuse by police members by giving voice to some of the survivors and victims; and to offer a few suggestions to improve the situation of police partners in… Read More Jennifer NixJune 4, 1998
PolicyPublicationsResearchCrime Prevention, Violence in TransitionFrom Violent Policies to Policies for Violence Prevention: Violence, Power and Mental Health Policy in 20th Century South AfricaThis chapter has three aims. First, to place violence in South Africa and social responses to it within the interpretive framework of Foucault's theory concerning power and socio-medical knowledge, and to identify the implications that this structuralist approach has for policy formulation. Second, to outline the four major discursive regimes that have conditioned South African practices in relation to violence… Read More Alexander Butchart, Brandon Hamber, Martin Terre Blanche and Mohamed SeedatMarch 11, 1998
