TRC Final Report

Volume 1

Chapter 11

Part OtherDepts

Subsection 25

30 Only then did interventions have the best chance of being therapeutic and useful to the victim or perpetrator.

31 Commission personnel, in varying degrees, represented the first phase in providing responsible and reconciliatory interventions. Failure to provide staff with the necessary support (in terms of criteria a, b and c above) would have undermined both the work and those doing it. For this reason, the Commission acknowledged the need to provide staff with ongoing support groups and allocated one and a quarter work hours a week for this purpose.

32 A six-week pilot project in Gauteng initiated the first staff support group, which was facilitated by the mental health specialist (a trained group therapist). Following this, staff support groups were introduced in all the regions. Three group facilitators were employed to work with support groups in the other regions. Regional group facilitators were responsible for making individual referrals on behalf of Commission staff. Services were offered at reduced rates and were paid for by Commission staff themselves.

33 The support group’s function was to provide a space where Commission staff could express, discuss, share and receive support on matters relating to the emotional effects of working within the Commission and their exposure to traumatic material and traumatised individuals. On the surface, the groups served a dual purpose: debriefing and general support. The respective focuses varied according to exposure levels.

34 The groups also worked on maintaining staff members’ psychological health: their preparedness, knowledge of the emotional and psychological terrain and ongoing appraisal of their own emotional, psychological and cognitive responses. The facilitator performed a supervisory and a didactic role, offering alternative coping strategies and outlining indications of trauma.

35 Finally, bearing in mind that staff was based in the same office, facilitators attempted to keep discussions focused on psychological issues and steered consideration of practical issues to other fora, such as staff meetings.

36 An initial assessment was undertaken by the mental health consultant to determine what constituted ‘necessary’ support for Commission personnel. The method used was arrived at through a series of meetings with various staff groups.

37 The support groups did not follow any hierarchical structure, but dealt with issues (for example, traumatising material or personalities) which affected the particular group at any particular moment.

■ CONCLUSION

38 The extent of trauma experienced by victims of the policies of the former state is incalculable, reaching far beyond those who approached the Commission. This trauma is part of the legacy of apartheid and it will be many years before its effects are eradicated from society. The best that the Commission could provide was to attempt to cater for the immediate needs of victims and, where possible, to refer them for further help. However, because of the extreme paucity of mental health services in South Africa, the mental health of the many victims of apartheid – and indeed of all South Africans – will depend on the ability of the new govern ment to work towards the provision of adequate services.