Racism will be a criminal offence
RACISTS could soon find themselves behind bars as the Justice Department seeks to criminalise hate speech after the recent “explosion of racism”.
The department is to include hate speech and racist behaviour as crimes in the Hate Crimes Bill which will be passed in June this year.
Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery said it had not been the government’s intention to criminalise hate speech and racist behaviour, but it changed its view after recent events.
The views and utterances created a national storm and prompted Independent Media, owners of The Star, its parent company Sekunjalo Investment Holdings, and the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) to launch “Racism. It Stops With Me” – a campaign which will be get under way on February 11.
Jeffery said yesterday that once it became law, people who were found guilty of hate speech and racism could end up in jail, depending on the severity of the crime.
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has, however, warned against criminalising “expression”.
FXI spokeswoman Sheniece Linderboom said freedom of expression was central to democracy as it was a prerequisite for realising other human rights, provided in the Bill of Rights.
“Without freedom of expression, members of the public are unable to contribute or comment on the political, social and economic matters of this country. Thus, criminalising expression under the premise that it is hate speech creates a culture of silencing individuals which could potentially and effectively suppress the ability of people to participate in their democracy,” Linderboom said.
Current measures contained in the constitution and the Equality Act were sufficient to curb hate speech, she added.
“What would be useful is tightening definitions of hate speech and its requirements and proper implementation of the processes available. The state should also use existing mechanisms, including the Equality Review Committee, to devise creative ways to prevent racist, sexist and other prejudicial behaviour,” she said.