Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Western Cape High Court launched a dedicated victim-support room on Friday to help make witnesses feel more comfortable as they prepare to help the courts make findings of some of the country’s most traumatising cases.
“As a presiding judge, it is sad to say that not all victims will make it to this room,” said Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath, who presided over the Anene Booysen case in Bredasdorp in 2013.
“But this room will create the space for victims to become victors,” she said.
The room is set at the end of a passage, away from the courtroom, so that victims and witnesses are spared feeling exposed while they wait to be called.
Victims and witnesses used to sit in a stuffy room right next to courts, and would have to walk past the families of the accused.
Bright and airy with its high ceilings and oversized windows, the room has been decorated and furnished as a comfortable space for all ages – small children to adults.
A little play table surrounded by brightly coloured chairs has been set up, with small toys at the ready for busy or nervous fingers.
The old fireplace was cleared out and filled with cushions and toys for small children who’d like to take one of the books out for some quiet time in a reading nook.
A grown-up couch is softened with soft knitted teddies that are intended to be taken home, instead of wrenching it out of an overwhelmed child’s hands.
Court intermediaries, who help child and adult witnesses make sense of court processes, will also have a place to sit privately and help them manage the trauma of being in a court building and possibly about to see the accused.
“Some people say they were too nervous to eat breakfast,” said Natasha Jansen, a court intermediary.
A donor has provided new glossy lifestyle magazines for the adults to flip through for a moment of escapism.
A long chest of drawers is stuffed with snack packs, toiletry packs, and even clothing for witnesses who feel they have nothing appropriate to wear to court.
A small kitchen with a kettle, microwave and fridge is set up in a corner for the quick warming-up of instant noodles, a comforting cup of tea, or a bowl of cereal.
The plan is to also have a stock of breakfast cereals and milk for witnesses whose cupboards are bare at home.
“Often, when I am sitting in my office, I would hear a witness crying,” said court manager Valerie Noah, explaining the rationale for the dedicated safe space.
Noah says testifying can be very bewildering, and hopes that sitting in a quiet support room instead of out in the corridor or the cold steps outside would make witnesses feel less vulnerable.
On really bad days, an accused’s family can unsettle a witness by glaring at them or threatening them as they walk past them while they wait on a bench in the corridor.
Advocate Maria Marshall is currently prosecuting two men and a woman involved in a huge human-trafficking trial, and managing all of the moving parts that keep the trial on time and on track.
Getting an office colleague to babysit a witness’s infant at the last moment, sending the judge a discreet signal that a new mom needs a breastfeeding break, and lending a witness a personal jacket because the court is colder than expected, are all part of a day’s work for Marshall.
Just this week, a witness burst into tears and was inconsolable while testifying against the man she says raped her.
She welcomed the option of a victim-support room for witnesses to sit in while they compose themselves.
Advocate Evadne Kortje says the only place they have to hug a terrified witness is in the “cabin” – a tiny entrance lobby.
“People are severely traumatised by the time they come to testify. And sometimes when they say their truth, they discover that it might not be everybody’s truth. And even under cross-examination, things don’t go so well. Little chips of their humanity are taken.”
The room is finished off with small touches like a jewellery box filled with message cards containing a motivational message that a witness can pop into their pocket and read on the way home.
Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions Nicolette Bell says: “This is how it should be.”
While most of the preparation was done by court staffers, it still needs a few items. The Department of Justice has committed to helping with these, but anyone wanting to help replenish the comfort pack and clothing supplies, or donate books and toys, or even a couch to curl up on, can contact Laura Baartman on [email protected] .
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