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The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613749359149056 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Frantz, Mariete Jolene |
| author2 | Thesnaar, C. H. |
| author_browse | Frantz, Mariete Jolene Thesnaar, C. H. |
| author_facet | Thesnaar, C. H. Frantz, Mariete Jolene |
| author_sort | Frantz, Mariete Jolene |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135995 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:04.390Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135995 The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape Frantz, Mariete Jolene Thesnaar, C. H. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology. Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Frantz, M. J. 2026. The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/0d9f0e01-cdf3-470e-b3aa-b8fb2eedaf09 This doctoral study, situated within the discipline of Practical Theology and its sub-discipline of Pastoral Care, investigates the significance of restorative justice (RJ) in facilitating the rehabilitation, restoration, and holistic healing of incarcerated persons serving life sentences in South Africa. Against the backdrop of a predominantly retributive correctional system and the socio-theological challenges of post-apartheid society, the research addresses a critical gap: the need for empirically grounded, theologically informed models of justice that respond to the profound human and spiritual needs of those condemned to long-term imprisonment. The primary research question guiding this inquiry is: What is the significance of a restorative justice programme for the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of life-sentenced incarcerated persons? The study employs a qualitative research paradigm and a single-case study design, focusing on the RJ programme at Voorberg Medium ‘B’ Correctional Centre in the Western Cape. The research cohort consists of 17 purposively selected incarcerated individuals sentenced to life imprisonment before October 2004, who have served a minimum of twenty years. Grounded in a practical theological framework and utilising the pastoral cycle (Paul Ballard and John Pritchard,1996:74-86) as a hermeneutical lens, the study is further contextualised by the Southern African ethic of ubuntu, which underpins its conceptualisation of relational justice. A multi-method approach was adopted, comprising a pilot study, in-depth participant observation of a five-day intensive RJP, and semi-structured interviews with incarcerated participants and a multi-disciplinary team of correctional staff, including a psychologist, pastoral workers, and programme facilitators. Thematic analysis of the rich qualitative data revealed several core findings. Key among these is that RJ provides a vital narrative and communal space for incarcerated persons to confront the harm caused by their crimes, facilitating a journey towards authentic accountability and empathetic engagement with the perspective of the victim. Furthermore, the process fosters significant personal healing, marked by spiritual reorientation, the development of moral agency, and the reconstruction of a pro-social identity grounded in ubuntu principles of interconnectedness. The study concludes that restorative justice represents an indispensable, complementary praxis within correctional environments, moving beyond punitive containment towards a model of holistic, relationally oriented restoration. Its primary original contribution lies in the construction of an evidence-based, ubuntu-informed Integrated Model of Restorative Pastoral Praxis. This model offers a coherent theological and practical framework for DCS policy, pastoral care, and rehabilitation programmes, advocating for a systemic shift towards a justice that truly restores individuals, relationships, and communities. The dissertation thus makes a significant contribution to the fields of Practical Theology, Pastoral Care, Restorative Justice studies, and correctional theory. Doctoral 2026-04-17T09:06:39Z 2026-04-17T09:06:39Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135995 en Stellenbosch University 353 pages : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Frantz, Mariete Jolene The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape |
| title | The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape |
| title_full | The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape |
| title_fullStr | The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape |
| title_full_unstemmed | The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape |
| title_short | The significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation, restoration, and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment: A case study of Voorberg Medium B Correctional Centre in the Western Cape |
| title_sort | significance of restorative justice on the rehabilitation restoration and healing of incarcerated persons sentenced to life imprisonment a case study of voorberg medium b correctional centre in the western cape |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135995 |
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