sexual orientation not priority to government to mention

By Nthateng Mhlambiso (BTM Senior Reporter)

SOUTH AFRICA – May 21, 2008: As homophobic hate crimes escalate in the country, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community is concerned about certain information purported in relation to the gay community.

It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that information disseminated is balanced so that people understand its stance.

‘The State and any person may not discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, religion, belief culture and language’, is a statement from a poster at the Springs Magistrate court which deliberately omits certain portions of the South African Constitution such as the sexual orientation.

The poster, as a communication tool for the Department of Justice (DOJ), aims to create awareness to the public about the existence of Equality Courts and the grounds on which any person may not unfairly discriminate.

The omission of sexual orientation part raised concerns , especially by LGBTI people who attended a murder case of a Kwa-Thema lesbian, Eudy Simelani, at Springs Magistrates Court on last week.

Asked why such information was ignored, the Department of Justice argued that it is only because of lack of space in posters but “only the most important information is printed.”

Heinrich Augustyn, Assistant Director: Media Liaison at DOJ, revealed that posters should not be seen as a ‘stand alone’ communication tool.

He further elaborated that it is for the reason that booklets containing all information on Equality Courts and equality matters are available to visitors at the court.

“The poster is a first line communication, focusing on creating awareness and due to a limited space on a poster, the most important information is printed on it to create interest and encourage people to read more on the topic contained in the booklets or pamphlets provided.”

He added that words such as ‘including’, ‘amongst others’ and so forth, are often used in such posters to indicate that listed items or issues are not all inclusive and that there is more to read about on the topic.

Disturbed Emily Craven, coordinator of the Joint Working Group, questioned; “The constitution lists the grounds on which a person may not be discriminated and it does not give more importance to some of these than to others. So why should government departments take it upon themselves to do so?”

“More concerning is that people within government departments designing posters such as this don’t think that sexual orientation is an important enough ground to include in their poster which at a time when we are seeing a rise in number and increase in brutality of homophobic hate crimes mainly against black lesbians, is worrying.”

Craven pointed out that this is not an isolated incident adding that when the Department of Education published the first draft of the Bill of Responsibilities for the youth of South Africa, it included two lists of grounds on which a person should not discriminate. “Hate speech and Sexual Orientation among others were missing from both of these as well.”

“Again we were told that it was an accidental omission and not deliberate but a later draft did include sexual orientation.  The more it happens the more we have to be concerned that what we are seeing this as an attempt to bypass the constitution and the rights it guarantees by consistently reinforcing certain parts of it and consistently excluding others from the communication mediums that the majority of people see on a day to day basis such as posters.”

Craven believes that this kind of omission “mirrors a broader political inability to recognise just how big a problem of hate crimes is right now”.

However Augustyn is adamant that posters are not the only communication medium used by the department. “Apart from posters and booklets, various other advertising tools and the media have been utilised to promote equality courts and matters to ensure citizens their right to access information as per section 32 of the constitution”, he concluded.