2014

Images From The Prison Studies Symposium At The PsySSA Congress In Durban

Congratulations To Dr. Puleng Segalo

We are proud to announce that one of our members, Dr. Puleng Segalo, was named “The Distinguished Young Woman Scientist of the Year” in the category of Humanities and Social Sciences: she received this recognition for her outstanding contribution to building South African’s scientific and research knowledge base. On Friday the 15th of August, the Ministry of Science and Technology held the 11th Women in Science Awards. These awards are aimed at paying tribute to and acknowledging remarkable South African Women Scientists.

Alteritas Project Collaboration

We have made contact with Simona Marchesini and an inter-disciplinary group of researchers from Verona in Italy. One of the group’s 2013-2014 projects focuses on interaction among people in prisons. They have arranged for an English translation of their project presentation to share with us.

The Routledge Women In Prison Collection

For a limited time, Routledge are offering you free online access to a selection of journal articles on the subject of ‘Women in Prison’.

The article collection explores the many issues surrounding women and the criminal justice system from various academic disciplines, including psychology, medicine, gender studies, and criminology.

Click here to access the free collection <http://tandf.msgfocus.com/c/13YOLmyfOFdwBaf4ay3F40HDXp>

Sixth Annual International Crime, Media & Popular Culture Studies Conference: A Cross Disciplinary Exploration

This is a multidisciplinary conference for those engaged in research, teaching and practices associated with the intersection between crime, deviance, social justice, and/or law with that of media and popular culture. Completed paper is not required. Each evening conference attendees go to local restaurants for dinner and live music performed by some of the conference attendees.

http://www.indstate.edu/ccj/popcultureconference/index.htm

Patient Xolela And Restorative Justice In Hospital – By Sally John

Patient Xolela arrived at our hospital accompanied by prison guards. I happened to be in the ward when he arrived and picked up that we were welcoming a patient with a difference. Xolela was manacled to a hospital bed and looked angry and wasted in face and body. He was suffering TB meningitis. As soon as nurses had made him comfortable, I noticed that a young nurse wasted no time in putting a chair by his side and sitting down. She had hoped to welcome him and chat to him but she soon left his side as, besides a sullen silence, she received no response.Over the days, I visited Xolela’s bedside and was happy to see that he was not manacled to his bed at all times although there was always a prison guard in attendance down the passage from his room. It became apparent that Xolela did not have the mental capacity to engage in a conversation and he was not able to walk due to his sickness. His physical condition did not seem to improve over the days but what I did notice was that he begun to smile and talk in short phrases to the nurses. His prison demeanour appeared to have slipped away.Over the weeks it became evident that Xolela’s physical condition was not improving beyond a certain point and so plans to discharge him from the hospital needed to be made. Doctors and prison authorities began a dialogue around his future. The prison clinic felt that they could not care for a chronically sick, immobile prisoner. The general consensus among prison authorities and doctors was that Xolela should be allowed to return home. In the name of restorative justice and remembering his wasted, angry face when he arrived from prison, I was all for thisAs a psychologist who believes that prison incarceration can make prisoners worse criminals or, at the least, people suffering mental illness, Xolela’s return to his family appeared the most just and humane way to deal with his situation. It was a pleasant surprise for me to hear that Xolela would not even be subjected to a trial as how can one put on trial a mentally and physically sick and immobile person who could no longer understand what was said to him or respond to it. Talk within the hospital was around how his family would respond to him. The social worker contacted the family who agreed to have Xolela back in the home.At the time of writing, Xolela is still in the hospital and all of us are eagerly awaiting his return home. In talking to nurses, I found that they all seemed to be fond of Xolela and wondered how a young man like him could have turned to crime. Talk also centered on the fact that he was suffering enough from his illness so this should alone be his punishment and nothing more. A comment was made that, if his family felt so inclined, they would mete out some form of punishment to him.Xolela’s future life is still uncertain but we are all hoping that he will live out the rest of his days in the bosom of his family. He will surely not commit another crime so, in a way, restorative justice has been served simply through his hospital incarceration, the kindness shown to him there and the decision to return him to his family. Unfortunately three weeks after this was written, Xolela still lies in the hospital. He has developed a bed sore and the relevant authorities have not been able to organize his discharge. The problem seems to be with who is going to fill in his forms. The wheels of bureaucratic organization appear to be turning too slowly for Xolela’s slowly waning life.The person depicted in the image above is purely random and not Xolela.

Edna Freinkel At SA Book Fair In Cape Town: 13 – 15 June 2014

A thoroughly updated version of “Teach Any Child or Adult to Read” by Rebecca Ostrowiak and Edna Freinkel will be on display at the SA Book Fair at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 13-15 June 2024. As a long-time member of the Publishers Association of SA, Edna’s business, ELF Publishers, has been generously sponsored by the FPMSeta. This covers the Stand at the Fair, air fare and accommodation. Anyone wanting to discuss reading problems in children and adults, particularly prisoners, could visit Edna at Stand E5 on 13 and 15 June. On the 14th the mother of a pupil who Edna successfully taught to read thirty years’ ago and now has degrees and a high position in business, will be available to talk of her experience. Book lovers will enjoy meeting many authors, viewing wonderful books and hearing stimulating talks. Children will have a fantastic time at puppet shows, story telling, craft activities etc.

Amazing News – Graduates In Barberton

We are proud to announce that two “lifers” in Barberton graduated recently from Unisa, with degrees in Applied Psychology and Accounting Sciences respectively. This makes us so proud and excited! Thank you Lilla van der Walt for making us aware of this! We would like to invite members of the group to send us messages of congratulations (even if it is one-liners), and we will compile a document for the graduates. Please take the time to do this, it is an excellent achievement for these graduates and it would be lovely if we could encourage them and show them support!

PsySSA Congress 2014: Symposium On Prison Studies And Communities

We are proud to announce that we have finalized our paper presentations for our symposium to be held in Durban in September 2014 as part of the PsySSA Congress. We would also like to invite any interested party to join us at the symposium and take part in the discussions. Once the date and time of the symposium have been finalized we will let you know!

Focus Group Featured On The Unisa College Of Human Sciences Intraweb

Research And Innovation Week Prison Focus Group – 7 March 2014

The focus group hosted by the Inside-out Outside-in interest group together with the Department of Psychology’s Research Buzz as part of the Unisa Research and Innovation week was a massive success. The participants included Lilla van der Walt (an educationist at DCS), Kyla Herrmannsen (Wits Justice Project), Edna Freinkel (Readucate), Saxon Dhlamini (ex-offender and motivational speaker) and Jessuina James (Department of Psychology, Unisa. It was facilitated by Carien du Plessis and Bongi Mdakane (Both Department of Psychology, Unisa).

Invitation To Attend A Departmental Research Buzz: A Focus Group Discussion On Prison Issues And Communities

You are cordially invited to attend and participate in a focus group discussion on prison issues hosted by the Inside-out Outside-in prison interest group. We will be discussing a variety of prison and offender issues such as conditions in prison, prisoner education and discrimination after release.

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