South African campaigner tells his story

27 October 2009

Since 2006, Y Care International has been campaigning for juvenile justice systems around the world to be fairer for children and young people. At a time when many countries are lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility, the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) asked one of our Youth Justice in Action campaigners, Thandanani Ndlovu - who has first-hand experience of the justice system - to join the debate. Read his story below.

Taking the 'criminal' out of responsibility

Thandanani Ndlovu from South Africa, was arrested for being associated with the perpetrator of an armed robbery when he was 16. He was detained for five months in jail awaiting trial. Since his release, he has been supported by Amanzimtoti YMCA in KwaZulu-Natal and has been involved in Y Care International’s Youth Justice in Action campaign.

The criminal justice system is more about punishment than education and rehabilitation. The conditions in prison are bad. I was in the same cell as adults. I often found myself sleeping on the floor as there were 80 of us in one cell – and that is not healthy or right for any human being.

I had been studying at the time I was arrested, but I was unable to continue my studies in the adult prison. I was eventually moved to a juvenile prison where I was offered education, but it wasn’t easy and I couldn’t get hold of the books I needed. Despite this, I worked as hard as I could and was able to take exams for the first year of a course in marketing and management.

A year later there were still no books and no one organised for me to take my second year exams. I was so angry  because I had wasted my time trying to study. I have heard that the Department for Correctional Services now works with the Department for Education to improve young people’s access to education in prison, but at that time, it was virtually impossible.

I have followed debates about the minimum age of criminal responsibility. In South Africa, the minimum age is 10, which I think is far too low. It should be at least 15. The main thing though, is to improve the system itself. More resources must be put into preventing young people entering the justice system in the first place and making sure they receive support and encouragement from a young age. Once they are in the system, they should be supported to develop skills and contribute positively to the community, instead of being criminalised. Criminalisation just puts young people in a worse situation when they come out of prison than when they went in.

I feel very strongly about this because when I came out of prison I had nowhere to go. With the help of a social worker, I eventually found a halfway house run by the YMCA, and they helped me to get back on my feet. But many young people do not receive any support and no company will employ them, first, because of the stigma attached to having spent time in prison, and second, because they haven’t had the opportunity to develop their skills and prepare themselves for life.

Hardly any government departments hire people with a criminal record. How can they expect other people to employ us when they won’t employ us themselves? What message does this send? I have one last thing to add: I went to the 10th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in March. Governments are very good at writing reports and making pledges to commit themselves to do wonderful things, but I want to see them follow through and put these words into action.

By Thandanani Ndlovu in the CRIN (Child Rights Information Network) Review 23, October 2009
Read the full review on the CRIN website

To find out more about the visit of young people to the UN Human Rights Council and what they achieved, go to: www.youthjusticeinaction.org

More information
The Constitutional Court of South Africa recently put an end to minimum sentencing for children aged 16 and 17. This will protect children from being subject to harsh prison sentences without their individual circumstances being taken into account. To read more, visit: www.crin.org