CHAIRPERSON
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

Firstly, we thank you for the invitation extended to Friends Against Abuse to make this presentation and then for the opportunity we as South Africans have, to in a social way make a contribution to a better South Africa, by attempting to reduce the prevalence, incidence and potential incidence of rape in our communities.

Quote – John W Gardner
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities – brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems.
Prison rape is just that, a problem that seems unsolvable, but if we join hands one with the other – Government with civil society – we can and will break the back of this scourge, sexual abuse/rape in our prisons.

Chairperson, allow me to introduce the Friends Against Abuse team. The team consist of members of staff of the Department Correctional Services and time serving inmates – who for practical reasons cannot be present today.
The member component is
Ms Lizelle Albertse – the founder of FAA
Mr Chris Malgas – working at Admission Centre Pollsmoor
Mr Eddie Johnson – working at the Regional Commissioner’s Office
Our being members of DCS place us at the coalface of prison rape and abuse, we see the victims of prison rape on a daily basis. We see the pain and agony when these men cry out for help.
These committee members sacrifice their time and resources over weekends to attend to the needs of prison rape victims. This is to help them from a status of victim to survivor (victim did not request help or have not disclosed the fact that he has been raped whereas the survivor did). We believe disclosure is the first step to healing.

Chairperson and members of the committee, I will start my presentation with:

Overcrowding
It is common knowledge, our prison system is grossly overcrowded. The system is designed for ±100 000 inmates, as at this moment the system carries close to 190 000 inmates of which ± 60000 are awaiting trial inmates.

In the Western Cape we have a total prisoner population of ± 30000 of which ± 21000 are sentenced and about 7000 are unsentenced. We have ± 4000 young offenders in our system of which about 2500 are sentenced and ±1800 are unsentenced.
In the Western Cape we have a total staff component of about 6000 members. The present staff to prisoner ratio is 1:5. Then we need to deduct the members of staff that are not directly responsible for duties relating to inmates such as the admin, support and professional staff.

The large proportion of prison population in the WC is of the male gender grouping ± 29000, more than likely their offences are violence and aggression related. Worse, a large proportion would be in prison for sexually related offences.

Regardless what your offence is, once you have entered the high walls of prison – you have entered a world unique in every sense. Notwithstanding, it is being said – Prison is a microcosm of society.
This world is dominated by gangs - gangsters – violence - drugs smuggling – corruption - rape and just about every evil one can think of.
This world as a microcosm of our world, has more people per square metre than ours, in this world
there is very little chance of escape from the physical- psychological and emotional abuses.

Chairperson
Just imagine for a moment – you are a young man, it is alleged you have committed an offence – you find yourself enroute to prison. It is 99.9% guaranteed you would be violated or abused in one way or the other, but worse you could be gang raped and infected with HIV – effectively you have been issued a death penalty without any one even knowing. Then the worst part of your imagination comes, just imagine you have gone through all of this and then the charges against you are withdrawn.

Gangs and Sexual abuse/rape
There is a prevailing misperception that sodomy and rape is the same.
Loosely Defined

Sodomy is the voluntary sexual intercourse between two men. Research suggests that after having been raped and used as a sex object in prison – some men resort to sodomy as a means of survival and a deterrent to further sexual abuse.

Rape on the other hand is defined as a male having unlawful and intentional sexual intercourse with a female without her consent.
It appears therefore considering the above that male rape does not fall within the definition of rape as per SA Common Law.

In the event where a man has "raped" another man, the charge of indecent assault is brought against the perpetrator. On being found guilty of indecent assault the penalty is much lighter opposed to the penalty for female rape.
We have observed in recent judgements that magistrates have been taking a harsher position when sentencing is passed for prison related "male rape" cases.
We are aware in one instance in the Southern Cape where the perpetrator was handed down a twenty-year sentence. In another instance at Pollsmoor the perpetrator was handed down a ten-year sentence. There is still one case incomplete because the perpetrator has skipped bail on another charge.

Hayson N. (1981), Towards an understanding of prison gangs, suggests that sexual abuse is an inherent part of prison culture from as early as could be determined.
It is authoritively accepted that the 28’s gang are the rapists in prison, but that other gangs can and will also resort to rape if they so desire.
If we look at the proliferation of prison gangs in recent years, isn’t it a wonder that rapes are so under reported in our prisons.
Gear, S and Nqubeni, K (2002), Daai Ding gives a fairly accurate account of the extent of rape and sexual abuse in prison.
It is also reliably accepted that rape is not necessarily initiated in prison, but in the holding cells and police stations and at courts, most times with the knowledge and complicity of the police officers on duty.
Another form of rape is rape by object – during which an object (koe"el) is forcibly inserted into the rectum of a man – it is called "poking" – to be couriered to prison and extricated by the crudest and most unhygienic means. This forcible insertion is the precursor to prison rape.

An excerpt from a letter received from one of our survivors:
My name is "Frank Erasmus". I am here on a charge of theft of a motorcycle, which must still be proven. I was arrested and taken to Steenberg Police station. On the 11^th June 2000, I was taken to Wynberg Court. After appearing I was taken to the holding cells. … Two prison gangsters confronted me in the cell and asked me who I was and if I was a gangster. I told them I was not a gangster. They searched me and asked me if I ever ‘upped a koëel’. I told them no that this was going to be my first time in Pollsmoor. … The more I told them, I do not know how to ‘up a koëel’, they started hitting me. They forced me to pull my pants down, all the while hitting me. They forced me to the toilet in the corner. One of them was standing in front of me, hitting me with a belt buckle over my head and back. They said that if the ‘koëel’ was not going to go in my behind, then they were going to have sex with me first to make the hole bigger … I didn’t notice that the one standing behind me had pulled down his pants. Before I knew what was happening the one behind me forced himself into me. I was screaming out in pain, nobody took any notice. The other prisoners were told to look away or the same will happen to them. … I was crying and pleading with them to stop. He raped for about two minutes. When he was finished I would feel wetness running down my legs. It was blood mixed with excrement and semen. The one standing in front passed him the ‘koëel’ of dagga. He violently forced it inside of me. The pain almost made me faint. I was told to put on my pants …Nobody came to my aid while this ordeal was going on. I felt humiliated, dirty and sick.

THE EFFECT OF PRISONER RAPE ON VICTIMS

Once a male prisoner has been raped, he is stigmatised and will be a victim of repeated sexual abuse for the remainder of his sentence and sometimes beyond.
Filled with rage and without the opportunity to receive psychological treatment or counselling, these men return to the community more violent than before they were raped.
Most of these men perpetuate the vicious cycle of crime by becoming rapists themselves in the attempt to "regain their manhood" in the same manner in which it was lost.
Prisoner rape can also lead to suicide. Besides psychosis and suicide, other effects of prisoner rape are murder, AIDS, and recidivism.
If a victim have to confront violence all the time, he identifies with what he tries so hard to avoid, therefore he decides, it is better to become an abuser than being abused.

THE HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF FAA

Friends Against Abuse was started as a result of the initiative taken by Ms. Lizelle Albertse, during her tenure as Secretary of the Institutional Committee at Pollsmoor Maximum in 2001. She identified a number of sentenced prisoners who were complaining of having been abused/"raped". She with fellow colleagues and prisoners formed a team that would endeavour to stop the abuse of new prisoners and to assist and support those that have disclosed the abuse. They also identified prisoners that fitted the profile of potential victims for abuse and informed them of the environment.
The Institutional Committee is an interdepartmental committee, responsible for the orientation of sentenced prisoners on admission to prison, as well as evaluating the participation of individual prisoners in rehabilitation programmes.
FAA assists and supports victims that have disclosed their abuse
FAA is the first group to have actively and from within exposed prison rape
We are also the first group that have assisted prisoners in their pursuance of justice in the courts, post the incident of their abuse/rape.
We have and are providing ongoing counselling and life skills programmes to survivors.
We have also dealt with a number of prisoners that have contracted HIV/Aids because of the rape
We have also on more than one occasion been called to intervene with juveniles that have been raped
To date, DCS has no known/specific programmes to identify or support any victims – or potential victims of sexual abuse and rape in prison.

GOALS OF FRIENDS AGAINST ABUSE

PRIMARY GOALS:
To contribute to building an environment of dignity and respect in which healing and recovery is possible by eradicating all forms of sexual abuse/rape within the prison through the provision of effective programmes and support services.

SECONDARY GOALS:
Assist victims of sexual abuse in prison in their healing process through the provision of comprehensive, multifaceted support.

Design and implement external programmes and support structures for survivors who are released from prison.

SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMMES

Screening new admissions Friends Against Abuse identifies and protects potential victims by segregating them from the rest of the prison population - combatting prison rape before it happens.
Informing prisoners of the risk of prison rape, HIV/AIDS and other STD’s, Friends Against Abuse provides prisoners with the knowledge necessary to reduce their own risk-levels. It is bad enough contracting AIDS through a relationship, but it is more devastating contracting AIDS by sexual assault in prison.
Containing and counselling those prisoners who have been raped and sexually abused, Friends Against Abuse reduces the incidence of rape in prisons. Reporting the crime is the first step in the healing process.
By counselling prisoners who have been raped, Friends Against Abuse reduces the likelihood of victims becoming perpetrators once released back into the community. Victims of male rape attempts to recover their "lost" manhood by raping others.
Speaking out about prison rape, Friends Against Abuse has boosted public awareness about an increasingly important, but overlooked element of South Africa’s human rights and crime prevention discourse.
Prison rape should warrant public concern because of the devastating long-term effects it can have on a victim and society at large.
Today’s victim is tomorrow’s perpetrator. By not dealing with this in an intelligent way, we are sentencing our society to an epidemic of future rapes.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Prison environment presents a number of challenges; Friends Against Abuse don’t necessarily have the answers – skills and resources to overcome these challenges. This briefing this morning could be the catalyst for Social Mobilisation around the issue of Rape and Abuse in prisons. We must jointly form a formidable frontier against all forms of abuse in prisons and the broader community.
These Challenges in no order of importance are:

Foster greater staff and prisoner participation in combating all forms of abuse in prison.
Train all staff members in the handling of rape and abuse complaints.
Harness the co-operation of SAPS and Justice Department to process male rape complaints.
Eradicate factors contributing to gangs and gangsterism in prisons and other institutions of detention.
Break the silence of victims of male rape and abuse. Sexual abuse in prisons remains an issue shadowed in fear and humiliation.
Mobilise for the enactment of equitable legislation in respect of male rape.
Change the way we run our prisons.
Conduct empirical Research on the phenomenon of male rape and abuse in prisons.
Establish strategic partnerships with NGO’s, CBO’s and Governments as to begin to tackle rape and abuse in prison.

SEVEN STEPS TO SAFER PRISONS
When can we say that we played a roll in minimizing sexual abuse and rape in prisons?

When the community turns its eyes back towards the prison walls and accept back into society those that have been released from prison.

When all staff members are trained to prevent rape and respond sympathetically and with compassion to victims and survivors.

When all new prisoners are given practical advice on how to avoid possible sexual assault and rape.

When prisoners, with the support of members, organize themselves and take responsibility to combat this ongoing scourge.

When rape counsellors are made available to all rape victims while they are still in custody.

When community Rape Crisis Centers and rape counsellors make efforts to reach out to the thousands of former inmates who have survived rape physically but not emotionally.

When we break the walls of silence that surrounds the sexual violence in our prisons and homes.

Chairperson you would have observed that I have not made any distinction between Adult Prisons and Juvenile Prisons. It is our experience, the sitution is no different in any of these places of incarceration.

Quote: Seneca
Its not because things are difficult that we do not dare – it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.