Why is the DA so opposed to the Hate Crimes Bill?A dispute between the DA and the deputy minister has highlighted the party's opposition to the long-awaited Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.
by Mambaonline.com
14-02-2023 09:41
in LGBTQIA
It's hoped that the Hate Crimes Bill will help stem attacks against vulnerable groups, including the LGBTIQ community via mambaonline
A dispute between the DA and the deputy minister has highlighted the party's opposition to the long-awaited Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.
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It's a stance that some might say contradicts the DA's claim to be an LGBTIQ ally.
Earlier this month, Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, the DA's Shadow Minister of Justice And Correctional Services, lashed out at Deputy Minister of Justice John Jeffery for comments he made in connection to the contentious Bill.
ln a statement, Breytenbach claimed that Jeffery had asserted that white Afrikaners were the biggest perpetrators of hate crime and hate speech in South Africa in a reply to a question by the Freedom Front Plus.
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Describing the Bill as ill-conceived [and] draconian , Breytenbach also went on to list the party's reasons as to why it will continue to oppose it in Parliament .
These include the DA's belief that hate should be an aggravating circumstance in sentencing rather than becoming an entirely new form of crime; that the Bill will not address the root causes of crimes motivated by hate, only the symptoms; and that it could be used as a political tool.
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The DA also argues that the Hate Crimes Bill's hate speech provision could lead to individuals and the media being forced to self-censor which will result in a substantially chilling effect on freedom of expression across society .
The party further fears the Bill's requirements will place a heavy burden on an already under-resourced NPA [National Prosecuting Authority], and amounts, in effect, to double legislating.
Finally, the DA stated that the list of characteristics and grounds upon which a hate crime or hate speech may be committed is overly broad and lacks evidentiary justification.
In April 2021, 33 LGBTIQ and human rights groups called for the urgent passage of the Hate Crimes Bill In response to the DA's statement, Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services, insisted that the DA had misunderstood Jeffery's comments.
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Phiri also claimed that the DA wants to exclude sexual orientation' from the list of protected characteristics and grounds in the Bill, thus making members of the LGBTIQ more vulnerable to hate crimes and hate speech .
The Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill was first introduced in Parliament in 2018 and continues to wind its way through the legislative process.
Last year, the public and organisations were asked to provide their comments on the draft legislation.
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If passed, the Bill would create the criminal offence of hate crimes to improve the documentation, reporting and prosecution of these kinds of crimes.
Hate speech would also be made a criminal offence, with some exceptions such as artistic and bona fide religious expression.
The Bill has the backing of most of South Africa's LGBTIQ civil society as an important tool in addressing the ongoing discrimination and sometimes deadly violence against queer South Africans.
In April 2021, 33 LGBTIQ and human rights groups called for the legislation's urgent passage.
On the face of it, the DA's position on the Hate Crimes Bill appears to contrast with its vocal expression of support for the rights and equality of the LGBTIQ community.
Mamba sent Breytenbach several questions for clarity on the issue.
In her response, Breytenbach failed to offer much substance when it comes addressing the root causes of hate crimes and hate speech, falling back to prosecuting offenders as a solution (something she criticised about the Bill).
Notably, she also wrote that while the party has no issue with sexual orientation being included as one of the grounds on which a crime could be defined as a hate crime, it is concerned about the inclusion of gender identity or expression or sex characteristics in the Bill.
The DA's position on gender identity and expression is concerning. She claimed there is no evidence to show that LGBTIQ people have faced systematic hate because of their gender identity or expression or sex characteristics .
This is an assertion that many victims of LGBTIQ human rights violations and experts in the field would be surprised to hear. (Ironically, one of the hoped-for outcomes of the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill would be better documentation of the nature and scale of these incidents).
When one adds to this fairly recent development to allow for gender identity to be fluid, i.e. to change from time to time (and even within a very short space of time) it must be clear that no type of systemic hate towards those who subscribe to these freedoms around gender identity and gender expression can already be established, stated Breytenbach.
She concluded by further putting the validity of trans identities in question. Given that the demand to enjoy the freedom to express gender beyond historically accepted genders and to enjoy the type of fluidity described above is not even supported by all within the LGBTQ community, it is in our view not justifiable to treat the concept of sexual orientation' in the same manner as gender identity or expression', wrote Breytenbach.
The DA's position on gender identity and expression, as expressed in Breytenbach's response, will be particularly alarming for the TIQ segment
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Why is the DA so opposed to the Hate Crimes Bill?A dispute between the DA and the deputy minister has highlighted the party's opposition to the long-awaited Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill.
