Ex-convicts fail to reintegrate because of stigma

Our government of national unity has the potential to usher in a dispensation of transparency and renewed confidence in the authorities. With this in mind, I have compiled a wish list for Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald.

1. It is well known that South Africa has one of the highest and most unsustainable recidivism rates in the world at around 86-94%. Compare this with Japan’s 48%, China’s 6-8% (two countries that embrace integrative shaming rather than stigmatising shaming practices) and Finland’s 31%.

The United States, yet another stigmatising shaming culture, has a recidivism rate of 77%. This means that about nine out of every 10 offenders in South Africa reoffend.

The emasculating stigma against ex-offenders is the single most important factor in why offenders are unable to reintegrate into the communities from which they were removed.

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2. Australian criminologist John Braithwaite famously described stigma as “counterproductive” and “criminogenic”, in the sense that it drives ex-offenders away from mainstream society and into the arms of welcoming criminal subcultures.

The government’s “criminalisation and marginalisation practices” – in the words of British criminologist Eugene McLaughlin – should therefore be urgently scrutinised.

The foothold that the prison-industrial complex (PIC) gained in South Africa during former president Jacob Zuma’s tenure is evidence of this.

The profit motive as it has come to be embedded in the PIC, indirectly, is also important, though certainly not the only driver of South Africa’s unsustainable rates of incarceration and recidivism.

3. If our new minister were to tackle just this one issue of the stigma that fuels reoffending and cements criminal careers, he would have made a huge impact on our unsustainable rates of recidivism and carved out an enduring legacy for himself.

How is this to be done? By outlawing the stigmatisation of ex-offenders, including significant civil and criminal consequences for any proven act or practice of discrimination, marginalisation and/or stigmatisation.

But more importantly, a massive public awareness campaign by the department of correctional services on the dangers of stigma, in terms of crime prevention, should perhaps be highlighted in its budget planning.

4. It is vital that the public be educated about the societal costs of stigma – in terms of recidivism rates – if we are serious about creating safer communities.

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5. The South African correctional system should emulate Finland’s and blunt the impact of stigma through integrative shaming measures. This is bound to have a positive impact on both socioeconomic and recidivism rates.

6. Prison personnel should be made aware that most offenders come from already marginalised and disadvantaged communities and, therefore, face developmental trajectory challenges.

Fair, decent and respectful treatment of the offenders in their care is of the utmost importance.

7. Research has shown that incarceration is a serious public health crisis, affecting close family members with depression and other chronic diseases.

Accordingly, every effort must be made to replace incarceration, which is currently the dominant sentencing regime, with African punishment options such as community service.

Incarceration has a long and ugly colonial history in the developing world, which is why many African countries have banned these practices in favour of community-based sentencing options.

8. However, violent, criminogenic environments should not be taken for granted. It is possible to transform the DCS from an institution that propagates negative peace – in the form of the mere absence of crime – to one that advocates for positive peace – in the sense of achieving peace by peaceful means).

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9. One way of doing this quite effectively is to apply a conflict transformation, or at least conflict management, perspective to conflict in prisons.

The DCS has a long tradition of using lethal force to resolve conflict or riots in prisons, whereas there are more effective and enduring ways of resolving often legitimate grievances.

10. Ex-offenders must be provided with employment opportunities, otherwise all our efforts will be tantamount to barking at the moon.

One such fundamental challenge in the South African context is the obscene level of income and ownership inequality, which is a major driver of violent crime.

International experience across the shaming spectrum – from China to the United States – has shown that ex-offenders make for high-performing prison warders and can also provide excellent guidance and mentoring to those in their charge.

Implementing at least some of these proposals is bound to have a significant impact on the management of crime.

One can only hope that the recent changing of the guard will lead to a paradigm shift in which public safety is prioritised through meaningful sentencing.

• Lötter is a conflict criminologist affiliated with North-West University’s School of Philosophy