Figures highlight lack of hate crimes law in South Africa

The release of official crime statistics once again highlights the gap that exists because South Africa has not yet introduced a hate crimes law, the Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG) said yesterday. HCWG is concerned about the delays with the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. This Bill has been publicly discussed since 2010, and President Jacob Zuma announced in his Human Rights Day address that the Bill would be tabled in parliament this month. In light of the silence around the Bill, the HCWG thinks it is unlikely that this goal will be met. “We continue to call on government to bring the hate crimes Bill to parliament as soon as possible, as well as develop a plan for substantive public consultation. Until we have this act, crime statistics will continue to be meaningless to groups that are specifically targeted for violence,” it said. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) told the portfolio committee on communications in parliament this week “existing laws against hate speech in South Africa will not achieve their purpose unless effective ways are found to confront hatred in the social media”. Speaking at the public hearings into the Films and Publications Amendment Bill, SAJBD national director Wendy Kahn described how certain individuals were able to get away with making racist and threatening comments in the social media through assuming false identities, including fraudulently posting in the name of others. “We, with our apartheid past, should be equally vigilant against hate and should hold social media companies and electronic media to our standards,” she said. – Citizen reporter