Entries by HCWG
World Refugee Day
Today is World Refugee Day. In 1951 the United Nations Refugee Convention declared that a refugee is someone who fled his or her home country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”1 Today, according to the United Nations’, is the […]
A Briefing Note: Criminalise Hate Crimes, not Hate Speech!
To view the original Statement, please CLICK HERE. The Hate Crimes Working Group is committed to building a democratic South Africa, based on the values of the Constitution and that celebrates diversity and difference. We are deeply concerned about the impact of hate speech on our society, building consensus and unity, and bridging and repairing […]
Prontuit: Landskap – Juan Nel van die Hate Crimes Working Group
Prontuit: Landskap – Juan Nel van die Hate Crimes Working Group het met ons gesels vanuit Kaapstad waar hy ‘n kongres bywoon. Kom ons kyk wat is die groep se kommentaar op die voorgestelde wetsontwerp teen haatspraak en haatmisdade.
Let’s Face It – LGBTI Rights ARE Human Rights
The Scalabrini Centre have produced this great video which can be viewed below/ “We spent five months carrying a huge Rainbow Africa around Cape Town, looking for 1000 people to ‘face-up’ to equal rights for ALL, and get behind the statement ‘LGBTI Rights ARE Human Rights’. Because, sad to say, many people throughout Africa do […]
Postponement of Qwelane hate speech case, eight years later, is a denial of justice
The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) is shocked and dismayed at the outcome of yesterday’s (Monday) court hearing at which Jon Qwelane was granted an indefinite postponement in a hate speech case concerning an article he wrote eight years ago, titled “Call me names, gay is not ok”. The case was set down to […]
National Action Plan to combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
View the original article here: CLICK HERE South Africa was invited by the United Nations to host the Third World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (the Durban Conference), held in 2001. The invitation was extended in recognition of the struggle waged by the people of South Africa against the system of […]
Brexit, South Africa and Legal Redress
On June 23, 2016, the world was forever changed. A referendum deciding the membership status of the United Kingdom in the European Union took place, and despite warnings from senior UK government leaders, economists and even the then British Prime Minister David Cameron, a slight majority of the UK voted to leave the EU. In […]
Police brutality as a hate crime
Police brutality as a hate crime Police brutality against minorities, perpetuated by biases and prejudices held by officials, should constitute as hate crimes against the direct victims and their communities. Following the July 5th police killing of a 37-year-old black man named Alton Sterling, and the July 6th police killing of a 32-year-old black man […]
Race Bill Must Become Law Soon
This is an article originally published in the New Age: www.thenewage.co.za The Deputy Minister of Justice. John Jeffery, has quite rightly pointed out to the critics of the proposed bill to outlaw racism that other countries have similar laws like the German law that deals with the Holocaust denial and Rwandan legislation that criminalises the […]
Let’s Face it Campaign
This Human Rights Day Cape Town’s first Pop-up Pride to proclaim ‘LGBTI RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS’ Human Rights Day (21 march 2016) @ 11am Central Methodist Mission, Green Market Square, Cape Town This Human Rights Day, the Scalabrini Centre will be championing LGBTI equality and launching Cape Town’s first ever Pop-up Pride, getting 1,000 people […]
Labour Councillor Resigns Over Claims She Called Hitler ‘the greatest man in history’
To view the original article, CLICK HERE A Labour councillor resigned this morning over claims she posted a series of shockingly offensive anti-Semitic tweets. Among the most offensive remarks on Aysegul Gurbuz’s Twitter profile was a claim that Hitler was the “greatest man in history”. The discovery of the Luton councillor’s vile comments – revealed […]
Young lesbian woman murdered on her birthday
To view the original article, CLICK HERE The Love Not Hate campaign, a nation-wide multi-partner initiative addressing violence against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people, is dismayed to report yet another senseless murder of a young lesbian woman. Lucia Naido, from Katlehong on Johannesburg’s East Rand, was stabbed to death on the night […]
Press release HCWG condemns hate during break recent violent protests on campus
The Hate Crimes Working Group wishes to express its deep concern with the reports of violence, intimidation and hate-speech directed against various groups of citizens during the protests at Wits University this week. Students on campus during the violence were quoted on social media saying “they strangled me, choke slammed me, threatened me. After they […]
14 Years for Racism Policy
Click Here to view the original article. It has already taken government 14 years to finalise its anti-racism policy, but in light of last week’s social-media outrage over racist utterances, the state is having yet another look at its anti-discrimination laws. Cabinet approved the publication of the draft national action plan to combat racism, racial […]
Climate of Hate Continues to Put LGBTI People at Risk
MEDIA STATEMENT CLIMATE OF HATE CONTINUES TO PUT LGBTI PEOPLE AT RISK While the end of December marks a time of family, relaxation and celebration for many South Africans, for two LGBTI people in Gauteng and the Western Cape, it saw their brutal murder. Within less than 10 days, Motshidisi Pascalina, a young lesbian woman […]
Stop The Hate – Alana Baranov
Alana Baranov, a member of our Steering Committee, wrote an article regarding the recent wave of racism in South Africa which was published in the Sunday Tribune newspaper on 10 January 2016. A copy of that article can be found here:
HCWG Statement on the report of Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Probing Violence against Foreign Nationals.
PRESS RELEASE HCWG Statement on the report of Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Probing Violence against Foreign Nationals. The Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG) wishes to express its disappointment with the report submitted by Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Probing Violence against Foreign Nationals. The report is the outcome investigations by the Committee set up […]
No Word from the National Council on Gender-Based Violence
25 November, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NO WORD FROM THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE It has been one year since thousands of South Africans took to the streets across the country to demand a National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-Based Violence (GBV). A plan promised to our country by President Zuma. A plan leading […]
Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee Ignores King Zwelithini’s Hate Speech
25 November 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PARLIAMENTARY AD HOC COMMITTEE IGNORES KING ZWELITHINI’S HATE SPEECH This week, the Parliamentary Ad hoc Committee on Probing Violence against Foreign Nationals released its report on its investigations into the xenophobic attacks that occurred in April and May 2015. Sonke Gender Justice (Sonke) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) […]
Homicides of Transgender Women in U.S. Reach Alarming High
View the original article HERE There have been 22 killings so far this year of transgender or gender-nonconforming people For a few transgender Americans, this has been a year of glamour and fame. For many others, 2015 has been fraught with danger, violence and mourning. While Caitlyn Jenner made the cover of Vanity Fair and […]
Court victory in war against racism
View the original article HERE By: SHERLISSA PETERS Durban – It was a victory for the war against hate speech on Tuesday when the Pietermaritzburg High Court confirmed an interdict against Phumlani Mfeka, a former member of the so-called Mazibuye African Forum, preventing him from advocating hate speech and inciting violence, particularly against the Indian […]
Survey – Research Project for OUT.org.za
Hi there! The following survey http://tinyurl.com/o8a9ptx forms part of a research project that is being conducted by various LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) organisations countrywide. The aim is to gain better insights into discrimination experienced by LGBT individuals in South Africa. The results will inform interventions aimed to better the quality of life for LGBT […]