SouthSouth AfricanAfrican HumanHuman RightsRights CommissionCommission EqualityEquality ReportReport CommentariesCommenteries onon Equality:Equality: Race,Race, Gender,Gender, DisabilityDisability andand LGBTILGBTI IssuesIssues SAHRC CONTACT DETAILS Tel: (+27) 11 877 3600 Fax (+27) 11 403 0625 [email protected] Eastern Cape: KwaZulu-Natal: Northern Cape: Tel: (+27) 43 722 7828 Tel: (+27) 31 304 7323 Tel: (+27) 54 332 3993 Fax: (+27) 43 722 7830 Fax: (+27) 31 304 7323 Fax: (+27) 54 332 7750 20122012 Free State: Limpopo: North West: Tel: (+27) 51 447 1130 Tel: (+27) 15 291 3500 Tel: (+27) 14 592 0694 Fax: (+27) 51 447 1128 Fax: (+27) 15 291 3505 Fax: (+27) 14 594 1089 Gauteng: Mpumalanga: Western Cape: Tel: (+27) 11 877 3750 Tel: (+27) 13 752 8292 Tel: (+27) 21 426 2277 Fax: (+27) 11 403 0668 Fax: (+27) 13 752 6890 Fax: (+27) 21 426 2875 086 646 6055 SAHRC 33 Hoofd Street Braampark Forum 3 Braamfontein 2198 Tel: 011 877 3600 Private Bag X2700 Houghton 2041 Website: www.sahrc.org.za E-mail: [email protected] Copyright in this volume is vested wholly in the South African Human Rights Commission. No part may be reproduced without permission from the Commission. RP115/2012 RP115/2012 ISBN: 978-0-621-40805-8 ISBN: 978-0-621-40805-8 South African Human Rights Commission Equality Report SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EQUALITY REPORT TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... 3 FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 7 RECOMMENDATIONS: A SNAPSHOT……………………………………………………………9 on Racism…….………………………………………………………………………………….....9 Gender Equality…………………………………………………………………………………….9 on Disability…………………………………………………………………………………………9 LGBTI Rights………………………………………………………………………………………10 RACE AND EQUALITY IN THE COUNTRY: A SELECTIVE TRAJECTORY ....................... 11 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 11 The Skierlik informal settlement: Research findings ........................................................... 12 The University of the Free State incident ............................................................................ 15 Equality Courts .................................................................................................................... 19 The National Action Plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance ........................................................................................................................... 20 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 21 GENDER EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE: ............................................................................ 23 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 23 Methodology and Approach ................................................................................................ 24 Gender Equity in the Workplace: Brief Overview of Current State of Affairs ...................... 27 CGE Employment Equity Hearings: The Findings .............................................................. 27 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 32 Recommendations for Policy Action ................................................................................... 33 DISABILITY AND EQUITY IN SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................... 34 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 34 Promoting disability rights in a democratic South Africa ..................................................... 36 Challenges in achieving equity for disabled people ............................................................ 38 South Africa as a world player in issues of disability equity ................................................ 42 ADVOCATING FOR EQUALITY IN ACCESSING LIVELIHOOD ASSETS FOR DISABLED YOUTH .................................................................................................................................... 43 TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK: EQUALITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN SOUTH AFRICA 2009 – 2011 ............................................................................................ 49 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 49 Concepts and Definitions .................................................................................................... 50 Responses to infringements of rights: Localised organisation around “corrective” rape .... 57 Page 1 of 62 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The South African Human Rights Commission (The Commission) would like to express its gratitude to all the authors who gave up their time to contribute to the publication of this report. A sincere thank you to Dr. Kgamadi Kometsi of the Commission for coordinating the writing and editing of this report. Dr. Kgamadi Kometsi (Report convenor, content reviewer and editor) Kgamadi Kometsi is a Clinical Psychologist, with a background of teaching both at the universities of Cape Town and Witwatersrand. His research interests include race, racism, racial identities, gender, sexualities and HIV and AIDS. In particular, he is interested in using the psychodynamic lens to explore social dynamics in relation to these fields of interest. Having completed an interdisciplinary PhD at WISER, Wits, in 2008, he has presented widely, both locally and internationally on race, discrimination and human rights, and has published in peer reviewed journals on these subjects and on transformation. He currently occupies the position of National Coordinator for the Portfolio of Racism and Non-Discrimination at the South African Human Rights Commission (the Commission). His major project in this role has been to represent the Commission as part of the National Forum Against Racism (NFAR) to develop the National Action Plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (NAP). He has also presented as part of the United Nations‟ training initiatives in international workshops meant to assist countries which are still in the process of developing the NAP. Cameron Lee Jacobs ( Co – editor ) Cameron Lee Jacobs is the Acting Head of the Research Programme of the South African Human Rights Commission. He specifically leads, manages and ensures the effective coordination of the strategic objectives of the Research Programme. This primarily entails the production and publication of the Economic and Social Rights Report, the Equality Report, the Strategic Focus Area Report, the monitoring and evaluation of past recommendations and serving as a support function for the legal, advocacy and communication activities of the Commission. He holds a Sociology Honours as well as an MPhil degree in Public Policy from the University of Cape Town and has a background in law. In 2009, he published a book on land tenure reform in South Africa. His research interests include land reform; developing indicators for economic and social rights; culture and identity and; social relations in the agricultural sector. Page 2 of 62 Dr. Thabo Rapoo Thabo Rapoo is a policy analyst and research specialist on democracy and governance. He holds a PhD in Social Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, an MA in Sociology of Development from the University of the Witwatersrand and an MA in Social Science from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, United Kingdom. He is currently Head of Department for Research at the Commission for Gender Equality. Previously he has held the position of Executive Director at the Centre for Policy Studies where he worked for more than thirteen years; Head of Research at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature; and Research Manager at the Centre for Public Service Innovation (Department of Public Service and Administration). He has published widely and presented seminars in the areas of democracy and governance in South Africa. Ms. Vernet Napo Vernet Napo was appointed in the Commission for Gender Equality as Deputy Director for the Department of Research in September 2006. She has extensive experience in working in the education sector, firstly as an educator, then from 1987 to 1998 as a Subject Adviser: Geography, in the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE); and finally as a Gender Focal Person (1998-2001). Between 2001 and 2005 she worked at the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) as a Researcher. Vernet holds a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Witwatersrand. She has publications on Gender and Education. Prof. Leslie Swartz Leslie Swartz is a Clinical Psychologist and a Professor in Psychology at Stellenbosch University. He obtained his PhD in Psychology at the University of Cape Town in 1990. He has published widely in the field of disability studies, mental health, and community psychology. He is associate editor of the journal Transcultural Psychiatry, and editor-in-chief of the