Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities in South Africa PDF

## Constitutional rights and responsibilities: Human rights violations and gender equity ### 1.1 Concept: Human rights violations - Human rights are rights and freedoms that everyone has from birth, simply because they are human beings. - In South Africa human rights are listed in a Bill of Right...

## Constitutional rights and responsibilities: Human rights violations and gender equity ### 1.1 Concept: Human rights violations - Human rights are rights and freedoms that everyone has from birth, simply because they are human beings. - In South Africa human rights are listed in a Bill of Rights in the constitution. - Rights and freedoms: - **Equality:** All people are equal and must be treated equally. - **Life:** Everyone has the right to life. You cannot be sentenced to death by the courts. - **Human Dignity:** The government and citizens must respect the dignity of all people. - **Freedom and Security:** You cannot be put in prison for no good reason. You cannot be detained without a court trial. You cannot be tortured. You have the right to control your own body. You have the right to be free of all forms of violence. - **Slavery, servitude and forced labour:** You cannot be forced to work for someone. You have the right to choose who you work for. - **Personal privacy:** You cannot be searched or have your home or possessions searched without a police search warrant. The government cannot take your things, open your mail or listen to your phone calls. - **Freedom of religion, belief and opinion:** You can believe in whatever you want and you can follow the religion of your choice. - **Freedom of speech and expression:** Everyone, including the press, may write, say or print photographs of whatever they want, provided they do not break the law. But no-one is allowed to encourage violence and cause harm with hate speech like racist and sexist language. - **Assembly and demonstration:** This means you are free to organise and take part in public meetings and demonstrations and to present petitions as long as it is done peacefully. - **Freedom of association:** You can associate with whomever you want to. - **Political rights:** All citizens of South Africa can start or join a political party, vote if you are over 18 years old (and keep it a secret for whom you voted) and stand for election. - **Access to information:** People have the right to access to all information the government and anyone else has if you need the information to protect your rights. - **Citizenship:** Your citizenship can never be taken away from you. - **Freedom of movement and residence:** You can go or live anywhere you want in South Africa. You can leave the country and come back again at any time. - **Freedom of business, occupation and profession:** You have the right to do whatever work you want as long as you have the skills, experience or qualifications needed for the job. - **Labour relations:** You have the right to be treated fairly at work. You can join a workers' union and go on strike. - **Environment:** You have the right to a healthy environment. - **Property:** You have the right to own and sell property. You property can only be taken away from you by the government if you are paid a fair price for it and the government is going to use it for a public purpose such as building a dam or railway line. - **Housing:** No-one can stop you from getting a house, but the government does not have to give everyone a house. They must help people to get houses. If you have a house the government cannot take your house away form you. You cannot be evicted from your home if you own it. - **Healthcare, food water and social security:** The government must do things to make sure that you have healthcare services, food and water and financial help (social grants) if you cannot afford to support yourself and those who depend on you. - **Children:** All children have the right to parental care, shelter, healthy food, not to be neglected or abused, not to be forced to work, and legal help if charged with a crime. - **Education:** Everyone has the right to a basic education in the language of your choice, where this is possible. - **Language and culture:** You can use the language and follow the culture that you choose, but you must respect other people's human rights when you do so. - **Access to courts:** You can have a legal matter decided by a court. - **Just administration:** This means that actions taken by the government or government departments must be within the law. - **Arrested, detained and accused persons:** These people have rights such as a the right to a lawyer, visits from family members, not to be kept in jail without good reason, to be kept in proper living conditions and not be forced to speak or make a confession. ### What are violations of human rights? - The constitution is the highest law in the land. It sets out how the government of the country must be made up and how the country must be run. - The Bill of Rights records what rights are protected. - Because the rights are part of the highest law in the land, they are difficult to change or take away from people. - If the government or any other institution or individual discriminates against someone because of their race, religion, gender or in any other way, we say that the person's human rights have been violated. - Although we have the Bill of Rights to protect people from human rights violations, people's rights are still violated sometimes. ### 1.1.1 Types of violations - Human rights violations include a wide range of actions. - Among the most serious violations are rape, torture and slavery. - Other violations include limiting a person's choice of healthcare, housing, schooling or jobs based on social status or gender, or limiting a person's freedom of speech or religion. - All human rights violations are unacceptable in terms of our Bill of Rights. - Example (Case study): A homeless man was left to die on the streets of Johannesburg because ambulance staff said he was "too dirty." ### Activity 1 - Work in pairs and discuss each of the following examples to identify: - Whether a human right is being violated or not. - Which right it is and how it has been violated. - If a right is not violated, explain why not. - A factory is polluting the river where your community gets its water. - A parent hits a child with a sjambok. - A bus company will not employ a driver whose eyesight is very bad. - A hospital refuses to treat a badly injured person because the person has no money. - The government wants to buy your house to make space for a new road and offers your family a fair price. ### 1.1.2 Counter-strategies to violations of human rights - There are organisations that deal the complaints about violation of human rights. - These include: - The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). - The Public Protector. - The Commission for Gender Equality. - But in some cases you can develop your own plan for dealing with human rights violations as a first step. - If this plan does not work then you can take the matter to one of the organisations named above. ### CASE STUDY: Fareida's story - Fareida is a Muslim. - She goes to school in the suburbs. - Last month the school principal sent a letter to parents saying that all learners must wear the same school uniform. This means girls must wear a school dress and blazer. No jewellery, long pants and head scarves are allowed. The letter also said that all learners had to attend school assembly. As most learners in the school are Christian, learners are expected to sing Christian hymns and say Christian prayers. - Fareida and her parents feel that the new regulations discriminate against Muslims. ### Activity 2 - Read the story about Fareida, then discuss the following in groups: - Are Fareida's rights being violated? - If so, identify the right or rights in the Bill of Rights being violated. - How are her human rights violated? - Do you think the new regulations could violate any other learners' rights? Say why or why not. - Discuss other examples of human rights violations you are aware of. ### Plans for counter strategies - Fareida discussed the problem with her friends and family. - Suggestions for action: - We should all wear headscarves and refuse to take part in assembly. - I will go and see the principal and discuss the matter with him. - Let us all sign a petition against the regulations. The reps on the LRC can present it at the next council meeting. - Just ignore it all Fareida, and follow your customs. - We should find out from the Education Department if he is allowed to make regulations like this. If not we must challenge him. - Maybe we should ask the principal if learners from different religions can have chance to present a prayer from their religion as part of the assembly. ### Activity 3 - In a group, read the ideas for dealing with discrimination in Fareida's school. - Which ideas do you think will work? - Suggest any other ways Farieda could address the problem. ### Activity 4 - Roleplay a human rights violation and counter-strategies: - A pregnant woman is looking for a job. - She sees an advert outside a building saying that the business inside is looking for someone to answer the phone and type letters. She goes inside and asks about to the job. The manager asks her if she is qualified and how much experience she has. She says she has five years’ experience and a diploma from a secretarial college. The manager tells her she does not have enough experience, but she says five years is enough to be able to do the job well. The manager then says he cannot employ a pregnant woman. She says being pregnant will not affect the way she does her job. The manager replies that if she gets the job she will have to work for three months without pay to make up for taking maternity leave when the baby is born. - Choose two learners to roleplay the story. - The rest of the class must answer these questions in groups: - Is this a case of human rights violation? - Which rights are being violated? - Plan counter-strategies to deal with the violation of these rights. - Let each group roleplay their counter-strategy for the class. - Vote to choose the best counter-strategy. ### 1.2 Concept: Gender equity - Gender equity means that men and women have equal rights and opportunities and are treated equally in all ways. - In the past, men always had more rights and power than women. - Today, in most countries, men and women have equal rights. - Yet, although they are equal according to the law, women are often still treated differently to men and are discriminated against. - Women often do not have the same job opportunities as men and sometimes earn a lot less than men do. - Sport is one area in which such inequality occurs. ### 1.2.1 Gender equity issues in a variety of athletic and sport activities - Men and women are not often treated equally in sports. The inequality starts when they are young. - Boys are encouraged from a young age to take part in sports. Many girls are discouraged from playing sport. They are told things such as: - Girls' and women's roles are in the home. - Sport makes girls unfeminine. - Girls who play sports develop eating disorders. - Female athletes can't have children when they are older because they train too hard. - Women who play sports are all lesbians. - Girls and women who do play sport professionally find other aspects where they are not treated equally, such as: - Sponsorship - Coverage in newspapers and on television - Pay packages - Prize money - Sports scholarships - Coaching opportunities ### Prize money and pay packages - In sports played by both men and women, such as tennis, athletics and golf, the prize money earned by men is often much higher than that of women. - This situation is changing however. - For example, the prize money for the men’s and women’s tennis championships at Wimbledon, England was made equal in 2007. - In South Africa, the prize money for the men’s and women’s winners in the Comrades Marathon and Two Oceans marathon is the same. ### Coverage in newspapers and on television - Generally boys’ and men’s sports get a lot more media coverage than girls’ and women’s sports. ### Sponsorship - Men’s sports receive a lot more sponsorship from businesses than women’s sports. - In South Africa, the national women’s cricket team has no sponsorship and its players are not paid, although they receive some funds from Cricket South Africa. - They have to take time off work to play matches and have to raise their own money to go on tours. - The Proteas men’s team receives millions of rands in sponsorship money every year. ### Coaching opportunities - Male sports and athletics coaches have more coaching opportunities than female coaches. - There are many girls’ and women’s teams, even at school level, that have a male coach. - A female coaching a boys’ or men’s team is almost unheard of, expect at some boys-only primary schools. ### Sports scholarships - Women have been fighting for equality in sports scholarships for decades. - Today boys and men still get more sports scholarships to high schools and universities but more girls and women are being recognised for their sporting abilities than in the past. ### Activity 5: Investigate gender equity in sports coverage - Work in pairs. - Read the sports section of the newspaper and watch the sports news on TV for a week, and report on the following: - How much coverage was given to male-dominated sports compared to female-dominated sports in terms of the extent of TV time and the number of written articles? - How did the size and content of the printed articles differ? - Adverts of sport sponsorship: who were the sponsors targeting and why? - Hint: Look at person or people used in the adverts for sponsorship. ### 1.2.2 Defining gender-based violence - Gender-based violence is mainly violence by men against women. - It includes any act or threat that cause physical, sexual or psychological harm because of gender. - Examples of gender-based violence include: - Domestic violence, for example, physical beating or other injuries, sexual abuse, including rape and stalking - Trafficking of women and girls for prostitution - Forced marriage in some cultures- - Sexual harassment and intimidation at work - Traditional practices harmful to women, such as female genital mutilation. - Female genital mutilation is any procedure in which part or all of the external genital parts of a girl or woman are removed for cultural, religious or other non-medical reasons. - Female genital mutilation is usually carried out when girls reach puberty but is also known to be carried out on babies. ### 1.2.3 Emotional, health and social impact of rape and gender-based violence - Victims of gender-based violence suffer from emotional harm as well as physical harm. - They may feel sad, ashamed and powerless. - Repeated violence can cause them to lose self-confidence and self-esteem. - This can result in other problems such as drug and alcohol abuse. - At first most victims of rape or other gender-based violence react with shock and disbelief. - They often feel numb and dazed, withdrawn and distant from other people. - They may want to forget about what happened and avoid people or situations that remind them of the assault. - I feel numb. - I can’t believe this happened to me. - I feel disconnected from other people. - Every day when I come home I look in the cupboard and under the bed to be sure no one is there. - They may feel angry or sad: I feel very sad, like I lost a part of myself. I can’t go out alone anymore because I am too scared. I am so angry I feel like I want to fight the world. - They may also feel anxious or depressed: I worry all the time that it’s going to happen again. My life will never be the same. Everything just seems pointless now. - They may feel guilt and blame themselves: I felt like it was my fault. I trusted him… What did I do wrong? - They may also feel ashamed. - Feelings of shame are often related to the feelings of being powerless and helpless that victims experience. - I’m so ashamed. How can I face my friends? I just want to hide away forever. - They may feel that people will reject them and withdraw from friends and family. - These feelings are linked to being ashamed of what happened to them. - I felt everyone knew I’d been raped just by looking at me. No-one will want to be my friend if they find out what happened that night. ### 1.2.4 Prevention of violence against women: Law on sexual offences - **Sexual Offences Act** - In South Africa there is a law called the Sexual Offences Act, which came into effect in 2008. - The stated aim of the law is to give the victims of sexual offences in South Africa "the maximum and least traumatising protection that the law can provide." - Some aspects of protection against gender-based violence in the Sexual Offences Act include: - Making provision for rape victims to receive treatment at selected state institutions within 72 hours to help prevent transmission of HIV/Aids. - Not allowing children to be exposed to any form of sexual activities. - Giving violent crimes of a sexual nature more severe penalties and punishments. - Ensuring that all children and victims of sexual offences are given the protection they need to help them lay charges against the perpetrator and give evidence in court. - Allowing for children's evidence to be led through closed circuit television, freeing them from the trauma of testifying in the courtroom - **Sixteen Days of Activism** There is also an awareness campaign called Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Abuse and Violence. The campaign runs from 25 November to 10 December every year. It aims to: - Challenge the abusers to change their behaviour towards women and children. - Involve men to help stop abuse against women and children. - Provide survivors with information on services and organisations that can help lessen the impact of violence and abuse on their lives.