Hi, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa and was recently evacuated from there. The program is honestly atrocious. While the safety and security personnel try their best, volunteers continue to be placed in unsafe areas with organizations that are barely functioning and are forced to take minibus taxis to Park station, Johannesburg. Much of the crime is due to Peace Corps absurd public transit policies that do not match the realities of living in south Africa.
None of my friends from South Africa had been victimized as many times as PCVs were. People in my Peace Corps group were robbed at gun and knife point multiple times, some were shot at and stabbed, several rapes, and many have been assaulted. I would not recommend the program to anyone, the staff are mostly atrocouius and do not care about the safety of volunteers or productivity. Many of the volunteers who claim they are having a great time are in deep denial.
Also, Peace Corps left all the volunteers in the North West province this year when it became ungovernable and didnt even know where most of their sites were. PCVs had to find their own ways out, luckily none were killed.
Your daughter will most likely be going to KwaZulu Natal if she is leaving in January.
If you can, try to encourage her to postpone and apply for Botswana or Namibia. I've heard they are much better programs. Peace corps south Africa is sadly notorious for being the bottom of the barrel.