Abstract:
Until recently, little attention was paid to victims of crime and violence in South Africa.
Moolman (1997) argued that within the framework of the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
the victim is totally marginalized. Geis also maintains that the victim of crime
experiences a number of problems with each subsystem of the CJS (Cited in Galaway and Hudson, 1981). They further argue that the CJS is mainly offender orientated and they also claim that previously within the South African CJS, the focus was primarily placed on the offender of the crime, with the victim viewed as a complainant and/or witness at
best. Not surprisingly therefore, research has pointed out that victims of crime and
violence are often victimized twice - first by the offender and second by the insensitive
treatment meted out by members of the criminal justice system, the health care system
and support services (Davis and Snyman: 2005). However, with the introduction of
democracy in South Africa in 1994, and the inclusion of the Bill of Human Rights in the
South African Constitution (Act' 108 of 1996), the rights of victims have finally been
recognized and accentuated in terms of legislation.
