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OBJECTS OF BILL
The primary aim of the Bill is to create the offences of hate crimes and hate speech and to put in place measures to prevent and combat these offences.
FOR SA’s Legal Advisor, Liesl Pretorius, discusses the concerns with criminalising speech in a democracy. Such criminalisation is proposed by the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. The Bill proposes criminalising expressions it deems to be “hate speech”, suggesting jail sentence of up to eight (8) years.
FOR SA’s Legal Advisor, Liesl Pretorius, discusses the failure to define “hatred” in the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. The Bill proposes criminalising expressions it deems to be “hate speech” suggesting jail sentence of up to eight (8) years.
FOR SA’s Legal Advisor, Liesl Pretorius, discusses the wide definition of “harm” in the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. Harm is one of the elements for an expression to be deemed to be “hate speech” by the Bill.
FOR SA’s Legal Advisor, Daniela Ellerbeck, discusses how the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill will make it easier for you to be found guilty of the crime of hate speech and go to jail, than to be ordered to apologise or pay a fine under the Equality Act
FOR SA’s Legal Advisor, Daniela Ellerbeck, discusses how the version of the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill currently in front of Parliament, is a throwback to Apartheid-era legislation which saw the State censor speech and jail people.
FOR SA’s Legal Advisor, Daniela Ellerbeck, discusses how the version of the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill currently in front of Parliament, fails to protect religious speech adequately.
Same Love Toti — Talk about The Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crime and Hate Speech Bill
BACKGROUND
The founding provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, in section 1, set out certain basic values, amongst others, human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms and non-racialism and non-sexism. The Bill of Rights, in section 9 of the Constitution, prohibits direct or indirect unfair discrimination against anyone on the grounds set out in section 9(3) of the Constitution, namely, race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth. The Bill of Rights, in section 10, gives everyone the right to dignity and, in section 12, gives everyone the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources. In section 16, the Bill of Rights gives everyone the right to freedom of expression. This right is, however, limited in that it does not extend to propaganda for war, incitement to imminent violence or advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, which constitutes incitement to cause harm. The State must, in terms of section 7(2) of the Constitution, ‘‘respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights’’.
It is against this backdrop that the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill (‘‘the Bill’’) has its origins. The Bill is intended to address frequently occurring and sometimes violent conduct of persons who are motivated by clear and defined prejudices.
Summary – Memorandum of Objects
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The Bill
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Schedule
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