TOWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE: FROM CHILD SEX OFFENDER TO CHANGE AGENT

By Sello Tang

• Shoshanguve Secure Care Centre, under the Gauteng Department of Social Development, is implementing programmes designed to rehabilitate child offenders, focusing on behavioural transformation and reintegration into society.
• The Diversion Sexual Offender Programme and other initiatives like “In the Mirror” and the “Wake-Up Call” Programme are showing promising results, with former offenders successfully reintegrating and contributing positively to their communities.
• These programmes emphasise accountability, emotional growth, and self-control, aiming to prevent re-offending and promote a safer, healthier society.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development’s Shoshanguve Secure Care Centre is making strides in its efforts to rehabilitate children in conflict with the law through a series of transformative programmes. The focus is on behavioural change, with the goal of helping young offenders reintegrate into society as responsible, empowered individuals.

Ms. Linky Mashile, a social development policy developer at the centre, highlighted the impact of the Diversion Sexual Offender Programme, also known as “In the Mirror,” during a recent Train A Trainer Master Workshop in Pretoria. “Our programmes are effective because they teach life skills and coping mechanisms for life after disengagement,” said Mashile. She stressed that the initiatives not only address the criminal behaviour of the children but also focus on their inner transformation, enabling them to take responsibility for their actions and avoid re-offending.

One notable success story from the programme involved a young offender who, after completing his rehabilitation, secured employment and began supporting his family. “He saw his mistakes, took responsibility, and is now managing a business, earning good returns, and contributing to his community,” said Mashile.

The centre’s initiatives, including the “Wake-Up Call” programme, which addresses substance abuse, are conducted weekly and aim to empower young people to become independent and accountable. These programmes are complemented by efforts to reintegrate the children into society, with some beneficiaries currently enrolled in TVET colleges through the NSFAS programme.

The importance of these programmes extends beyond individual rehabilitation. “We teach child sexual offenders that the healing of their victims is not based on their satisfaction but on the victims’ recovery over time,” said Mandla Makhubela from the Gauteng Provincial Government. He emphasised that success is measured by the absence of re-offending.

Senior Social Worker Policy Manager, Ms. Linda Makhatini, added that the goal of these therapeutic treatments is to build a new foundation for behavioural change in child offenders. “This distorted behaviour is influenced by external factors, and we believe we can persuade these children to unlearn such behaviour and assume self-control,” she stated.

The Shoshanguve Secure Care Centre’s programmes aim to turn these young offenders into positive members of society, teaching them to process and manage their emotions before taking any action. “Only then can we ensure communities safe from social ills,” concluded Makhatini.

For more insights on the impact of these programmes, watch the Children in Conflict with the Law episode on DSDtv, where participants speak highly of Ms. Mashile’s influence.

https://dsdtv.org.za/episode/children-in-conflict-with-the-law/#