LGBT rights in South Africa

==Discrimination protections==
The protection of LGBT rights in South Africa is based on [[Section Nine of the Constitution of South Africa|section 9]] of the [[Constitution of South Africa|Constitution]], which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, gender or sexual orientation, and applies to government and private parties. The Constitutional Court has stated that the section must also be interpreted as prohibiting discrimination against transgender people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/christine-give-them-hell/ |first=Pierre |last=De Vos |title=Christine, give them hell! |work=Constitutionally Speaking |date=14 July 2010 |access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref> These constitutional protections have been reinforced by the jurisprudence of the [[Constitutional Court of South Africa|Constitutional Court]] and various statutes enacted by [[Parliament of South Africa|Parliament]].

In 2012, the [[Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa]] (Contralesa) filed a draft document calling for the removal of LGBT rights from the Constitution of South Africa. The group submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Review Committee of the National Assembly to amend section 9 of the Constitution. The Committee at the time was chaired by MP Sango Patekile Holomisa, who is also president of Contralesa. The parliamentary caucus of the ruling [[African National Congress]] rejected the proposal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/anc-distances-itself-from-gay-comments-1.1290046 |title=ANC distances itself from gay comments |agency=[[South African Press Association|SAPA]] |newspaper=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|IOL News]] |date=6 May 2012 |access-date=19 June 2012}}</ref>

The Constitution prohibits all unfair discrimination on the basis of sex, gender or sexual orientation, whether committed by the government or by a private party. In 2000, Parliament enacted the ''[[Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000|Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act]]'' (PEPUDA), which restates the constitutional prohibition and establishes special Equality Courts to address discrimination by private parties. The ''[[Employment Equity Act, 1998]]'' and the ''[[Rental Housing Act, 1999]]'' specifically forbid discrimination in employment and housing, respectively.

The PEPUDA also prohibits [[hate speech]] and [[harassment]] based on any of the prohibited grounds of discrimination. South Africa does not have any statutory law requiring increased penalties for [[hate crime]]s, but hatred motivated by homophobia has been treated by courts as an aggravating factor in sentencing.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lauren |last=Hess |title=Activists happy with lesbian's killers' sentencing |date=1 February 2012 |publisher=[[News24 (website)|News24]] |url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Activists-happy-with-lesbians-killers-sentencing-20120201 |access-date=13 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Zoliswa Nkonyana murder trial: hate and intolerance cited as aggravating factor in sentencing |publisher=Triangle Project |date=1 February 2012 |url=https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150645029828594 |access-date=13 February 2012}}</ref>

===Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill===
The ''Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill'', which is pending within the South African Parliament, would outlaw hate crimes and hate speech on grounds of race, gender identity and sexual orientation, among others. Public consultation on the bill was held between October and December 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/bills/2016-HateCrimes-HateSpeechBill.pdf|title=INVITATION TO COMMENT ON THE PREVENTION AND COMBATING OF HATE CRIMES AND HATE SPEECH BILL: DEADLINE FOR COMMENT 1 DECEMBER 2016|access-date=9 December 2017|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817144033/http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/bills/2016-HateCrimes-HateSpeechBill.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Following calls that the bill was too vague and threatened freedom of speech,<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/21/south-african-move-hate-speech-step-too-far South African Move on Hate Speech a Step Too Far] ''Human Rights Watch'', 21 February 2017</ref> provisions dealing with hate speech were changed, and now read: "Any person who intentionally publishes, propagates or advocates anything or communicates to one or more persons in a manner that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to— (i) be harmful or to incite harm; or (ii) promote or propagate hatred, based on one or more of the following grounds: age, albinism, birth, colour, culture, disability, ethnic or social origin, gender or gender identity, HIV status, language, nationality, migrant or refugee status, occupation or trade, political affiliation or conviction, race, religion, or sex, which includes intersex or sexual orientation". The [[Cabinet of South Africa|Cabinet]] approved the bill in March 2018. It must now pass both chambers of Parliament before becoming law.<ref>[http://www.mambaonline.com/2018/03/20/cabinet-finally-approves-historic-hate-crime-bill/ Cabinet finally approves historic Hate Crimes Bill], 20 March 2018</ref> However, the bill lapsed automatically when Parliament was dissolved on 7 May 2019. In his budget speech, Minister for Justice and Correctional Services [[Ronald Lamola]] committed that his Department will revive the bill and introduce it into Parliament sometime in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.za/speeches/deputy-minister-hlengiwe-mkhize-lgbtqi-sector-intergenerational-dialogue-28-aug-2019-0000|title=Deputy Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize: LGBTQI Sector Intergenerational Dialogue|website=South African Government|date=28 August 2019}}</ref>

Human rights activists argue that, while it is already illegal to assault, murder and rape, the consequences for crimes motivated by hate need to be more severe than ordinary crimes. This is because, they say, hate crimes are "message crimes" that harm entire communities. According to the Hate Crimes Working Group, over a third of all crimes are motivated by prejudice, with most of these committed based on the victim's race, nationality or sexual orientation.<ref>[https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-02-09-six-hate-crimes-that-shocked-south-africa/ Six hate crimes that shocked South Africa], ''Times Live'', 9 February 2018</ref> On the other hand, many legal experts believe the bill is unconstitutional and threatens [[freedom of speech]].<ref>[https://www.news24.com/Columnists/GuestColumn/rescuing-the-hate-speech-bill-20170307 Rescuing the 'hate speech bill'] ''news24.com'', 7 March 2017</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] has expressed concern over the bill's language and potential to lead to significant restrictions on freedom of expression. Others have likened it to the ''[[Suppression of Communism Act, 1950]]''.<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/martin-van-staden/hate-speech-bill-a-threat-to-democracy-in-south-africa_a_23374035/ Hate-Speech Bill: A Threat To Democracy In South Africa], ''Huffington Post South Africa'', 1 March 2018</ref>

===National Intervention Strategy for LGBTI Communities===
In August 2011, the [[Department of Justice and Constitutional Development|Department of Justice]] established a National Task Team (NTT) to address the issue of hate crimes against LGBT people.<ref>{{cite news |title=Team starts work on gay hate crimes |agency=[[South African Press Association|SAPA]]-DPA |date=10 August 2011 |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/team-starts-work-on-gay-hate-crimes-1.1115051 |newspaper=[[Independent Online (South Africa)|IOL News]] |access-date=15 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203104521/http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/team-starts-work-on-gay-hate-crimes-1.1115051 |archive-date=3 February 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref> In April 2014, [[Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development|Minister of Justice]] [[Jeff Radebe]] launched a National Intervention Strategy for LGBTI Communities developed by the NTT to address sex-based violence and [[gender-based violence]] against members of the community. The NTT has established a rapid response team to attend to unsolved criminal cases as a matter of urgency and produced an information pamphlet with frequently asked questions about LGBTI persons. Radebe stated that the Department of Justice acknowledged the need for a specific legal framework for hate crimes and that the matter would be subjected to public debate.<ref>{{cite web|title=National Intervention Strategy for LGBTI Communities 2014|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/vg/lgbti/2014-LGBTI-Strategy.pdf|publisher=Department of Justice and Constitutional Development|access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Radebe launches LGBTI violence programme |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/radebe-launches-lgbti-violence-programme-1.1681563#.U8vOjOOSyyg |access-date=20 July 2014 |agency=SAPA |newspaper=IOL |date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626095708/http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/radebe-launches-lgbti-violence-programme-1.1681563 |archive-date=26 June 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Diale|first1=Lerato|title=Plan to combat gender violence|url=http://www.thenewage.co.za/124285-1007-53-Plan_to_combat_gender_violence|access-date=20 July 2014|work=The New Age|date=30 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720144529/http://www.thenewage.co.za/124285-1007-53-Plan_to_combat_gender_violence|archive-date=20 July 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Bullying in schools===
South Africa does not possess a specific anti-bullying law. However, the ''Protection from Harassment Act 17 of 2011'' brings widespread relief for all victims of homophobia and harassment, including children. The ''Child Justice Act 75 of 2008'' aims to rehabilitate and to reconcile children under the age of 21. Depending on age, a bully can be held criminally liable for myriad criminal acts, including assault, intimidation, murder, culpable homicide, [[crimen injuria]], racial and homophobic slurs,theft, malicious injury to property and arson, depending on the facts of each case.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Laas |first1=A |last2=Boezaart |first2=T |title=The legislative framework regarding bullying in South African schools |journal=Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad |date=4 March 2015 |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=2667 |doi=10.4314/pelj.v17i6.12 |doi-access=free |hdl=2263/43951 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

According to the South African Department of Basic Education, South African pupils are the "most bullied kids in the world". In a 2015 survey from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, 44% of participating Grade 5 students (age 10-11) reported being bullied weekly, and 34% monthly. This was the highest among the 38 countries surveyed. 48% of students in public schools reported being bullied weekly. Grade 9 students (age 14-15) were the third most bullied, behind [[Thailand]] and neighbouring [[Botswana]], with 17% bullied weekly and 47% monthly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://africacheck.org/reports/reality-check-sa-pupils-bullied-world/|title=Reality check: Are SA pupils the 'most bullied' in the world?|website=Africa Check}}</ref>