South Africa: Should Rape Be a Hate Crime in South Africa?

ANALYSIS

The recent brutal rape and murder of Duduzile Zozo reminds us that despite having policies in place for many years, South Africa seems unable to reduce gender-based violence.

Zozo was found dead at the home she shared with her mother and three sisters in Thokoza on the weekend of 29 June 2013, with a toilet brush in her vagina. This is one of several high-profile rape and murder cases of a woman in South Africa this year.

The first was the rape and murder in February of 17-year-old Anene Booysen. Booysen was found by a security guard the morning after she had been gang-raped and mutilated at a construction site in Bredasdorp, in the Western Cape.

These are but two of the more than 47 896 rapes that the police recorded throughout South Africa in the past year (2011/12). It is chilling to think that the daily average of 132 rapes reported to the police is in reality a small proportion of the actual scale of the problem.

Zozo's rape and murder drew vocal protest from organisations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, who labelled the rape a hate crime. Indeed, rape motivated by prejudice against lesbians has become so common in South Africa that it has even been termed 'correctional' rape by homophobic men and women.

This offensive term refers to a practice whereby men rape gay women to punish them for being lesbians. The practice was first highlighted in 2008 after the brutal death of Eudy Simelane, who was raped, stabbed 25 times and robbed before being murdered.

Organisations representing the LGBTI community and other civil society groups have correctly demanded that the government take radical action against crimes of this kind.

One of their demands is for a new law that defines violent acts of homophobia, racism and other expressions of prejudice as 'hate crimes', and introduces harsher penalties for those found guilty of committing such crimes.

The proposal to develop hate crimes legislation stems from the belief that when crimes are perpetrated against groups of people because of their gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or ethnicity, this represents a form of violent discrimination - these are crimes motivated by prejudice.

As a result, these types of crimes may cause more pain to the victim, and harm to society, than similar crimes that are not motivated by prejudice.

Yet, while it is essential to support any efforts to reduce all forms of discrimination, hate crimes legislation raises some difficult issues.

The problem of gender-based violence, especially rape, is particularly serious in South Africa, where, according to 2009 Medical Research Council research, one in four men in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal admitted to having raped a woman.

According to figures published in the journal South African Crime Quarterly, an analysis of rape cases in Gauteng (Johannesburg and Pretoria) revealed that in the sample of rape cases studied by the researchers 87% of the victims were black women, and in 15% of cases of single perpetrator rape the victims were under the age of 11.

The question is whether there is something to be gained by calling the rape of Zozo a 'hate crime' and that of Booysen a rape, merely on the basis of the victims' sexual orientation.

Surely both rapes were motivated at least by the idea that women are inferior to men - and thus by prejudice.

While the one form of prejudice - homophobia - is recognised and campaigned about, as a society South Africa has been far less vocal about the prejudice that informs patriarchal notions of gender and creates the conditions that allow women to be seen by men as sex objects.

If that is the case, should all rape be considered a hate crime? Would that bring the country any closer to justice or to reducing the prejudices that informed both crimes?

Booysen and Zozo are both women. The nature of the attacks on them is symbolic of prejudice against women.

The call for a separate law to be applied to one group of women, and not the other, risks the creation of a hierarchy of prejudice within which some forms of prejudice are more acceptable than others.

The Sexual Offences Act (32) of 2007 says that any person who unlawfully and intentionally commits an act of sexual penetration with a complainant without their consent is guilty of the offence of rape.

Despite the legal ban on rape having been in place in one form or another for many years, and despite a sentencing law that mandates lengthy prison sentences for the perpetrators of rape and other violent crimes, the mere existence of these laws does not seem to have had any positive effect on the occurrence of rape.

Thus, it would be fair to say that the problem of rape in the country is not occasioned by the absence of an appropriate law, but rather by societal norms - such as those that assign particular qualities, and position in society, to people on the basis of their sex.

Research about rape has shown that it is associated with the belief that men have a right to a woman's body, and that it will be most prevalent in societies in which gender inequality is entrenched.

Social reform and norm change can be achieved, but it requires that South Africans agree that gender inequality must be eradicated, and we seem very far from that.

Advocates for hate crime legislation draw important attention to the need for the state and society to act decisively against prejudice.

Unfortunately, on its own a law against hate crimes is unlikely to change the societal norms and values that inform and motivate violence and hatred. South Africans need to think deeply and critically about the unintended consequences of elevating one form of prejudice above another. What are the possible consequences of doing so?

Will legally emphasising the harm caused by some forms of prejudice result in 'normalising' others? The country still has a very long way to go to eradicate, or even reduce, prejudice in all its forms, and South Africans should be cautious about relying too heavily on the criminal justice system to send the message to society that prejudice cannot be tolerated.

Egypt Shortens Curfew Hours As Violence Fades

Cairo — Egypt's cabinet decided on Saturday evening to shorten a wide-scale curfew by two hours, official news agency MENA reported.

The curfew, imposed on 14 governorates, including the capital Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, will start at 09:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) instead of 07:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), and last until 06:00 a.m. (0400 GMT).

However, the curfew hours on Fridays will not be shortened, as Egyptians tend to hold protests on Fridays, the report said.

The latest decision is meant to alleviate burdens on citizens and respond to popular demands, the cabinet said in a statement.

The decision came after Egyptian Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi insisted on restoring security as the government's priority.

Mass protests called by ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood largely failed to materialize one day before the shortening of the curfew.

Mohamed Badie, the detained "General Guide" of Muslim Brotherhood, and his two deputies will go on trial in Cairo on Sunday, the same day the former President Hosni Mubarak is due in court for a hearing.

The cabinet imposed the curfew on Aug. 14, shortly after the presidency announced a nationwide one-month state of emergency due to the turmoil over dispersing pro-Morsi sit-ins.

Official reports said that nearly 1,000 people were killed, including 100 policemen, in the dispersing operation in Cairo and Giza, as well as in relevant clashes across the country.

Egypt

Mubarak's Retrial Adjourned Till September 14

The Cairo Criminal Court decided on Sunday 25/8/2013 to adjourn till September 14 the retrial of ex-president Hosni … see more »

Transparency International takes battle against graft online

Marie Immaculee Ingabire, head of Transparency International Rwanda. Her organisation has intensified the fight against corruption. Sunday Times/File

Even after ranking Rwanda as the least corrupt country in Africa in its latest report, Transparency International will soon unveil a web-based avenue through which Rwandans will file corruption-related complaints in a more secure and anonymous way.

The innovation is intended to encourage people who may have evidence but fear retribution from suspected corrupt officials, to come out and report abuse of public funds or bribery so as to deal a final blow to corruption.

The software known as IFATE, is under final stages of development by the local chapter of the global anti-corruption coalition, Transparency International Rwanda (TI Rwanda). It is intended to guarantee confidentiality to whistleblowers as they can be able to report cases of graft and abuse of office by sending short text messages (sms) using their mobile phones or by email from the safety of their homes, offices or even gardens. A toll-free line (2641) has been provided.

It will also help those in remote places with limited access to TI Rwanda’s upcountry office to report cases without the hassle of travelling long distances or fear of being seen by the accused walking in and out of TI Rwanda premises.

In the past, Rwandans willing to report cases of corruption have had to use the TI Rwanda centres located in Kigali, Huye, Kayonza, Musanze, Rubavu and Rusizi.

Francine Umurungi, in charge of institutional development and advocacy at TI Rwanda, said that the new facility will be unveiled for public use before the end this month. IFATE guarantees utmost confidentiality because only the systems administrator at TI Rwanda head office can know the identity or the telephone number of the sender of the complaint.

Transparency International recently ranked Rwanda as the least corrupt country on the African continent in its latest report released in July, but noted that low level corruption still existed in the police force and the judiciary.

There have been calls by the Auditor General’s Office and Ombudsman’s Office for public involvement in the fight against corruption if the vice is to be completely eliminated. It is hoped that such innovations will empower the local population to take part in the fight against graft.

With a bribery rate of 13 per cent, Rwanda is ranked the 13th least corrupt country worldwide but cases of corruption still exist with the police and judiciary cited as the black sheep.

The Rwanda National Police recently demonstrated its zero tolerance to corruption when it fired 50 personnel convicted of “petty bribery.”

Using IFATE, a whistleblower can either send sms using a mobile phone to a toll-free line (2641) or fill a form online that is available on the website: ifatetirwanda.org.

Once the information is received, it is validated and the systems administrator may get back to the sender for more details, if necessary, officials said.

Albinos: We were almost sold off by our own father

Patrick Mazimpaka (R) and Fidele Mbekeye in Kigali. Sunday Times/Joseph Oindo

It’s one thing to be born. It’s quite another to be born different. In 1993, a child was born. The following year, another one came.
To a mother, it’s normally one of the greatest moments to be expectant. For those nine months or so, people will be eager to know the kind of child you will be bringing into the world. And expectant mothers normally walk with some pride in their faces. They have managed to achieve what even God said in the Bible: to a woman, you will labour when giving birth.
But then fate comes in.  She gets two different children. And after getting the two children, your husband tells you that they have commercial value and they should be sold.
The first one to come was Fidelle Mbekeye in 1993. A year later he was followed by Patric Mazimpaka.
The mother must have been very proud at that time – giving birth two children. But instead, she was ashamed that she had given birth to two albinos. Society rejected her and her children.
But God had given her children. And she didn’t mind what kind of children God had blessed her with. And the father was scandalized and asked the mother, “…where are these children coming from?”
And then the father had some “great” idea. When the two children started growing up, their father said that they had commercial value. They had to be sold. “Our father wanted to sell us when were young. But our mother refused,” says Fidelle.
Then there is another side of the story. Both Fidelle and Patric were rejected by their own father and the society at large. The Father did not want anything to do with them. They had to be sold, even at a miserable price. Even their relatives rejected them. Their contemporaries at school rejected them. They were different. They were Albinos. They could not fit anywhere.
So because of this rejection, they did not go far with their education. Both Patric and Fidelle will tell you that it was very difficult growing up with their skin colour.
They tell of their ordeal: “They called us names. They abused us. They beat us. The whole society rejected us. But God never rejected us. He gave us talent.
“We started singing in churches when we were very young and churchgoers appreciated us so much. People gave us money every time we performed and we used it to buy food.
“Our parents were very poor, and I think that’s the main reason even our father saw some commercial value in us. But our mother refused. She is the one who defended us from our brutal father. And then our father died a few years later. It was all about the frustrations of having albino children. We think he could not handle that. He was the butt of joke in the whole society. It drove him to his grave.
“However, we stayed with our mother. Then one day, while singing in church, Jean Paul Samputu saw us performing and he said that we were talented.
“He took us to his studio and we started recording songs. We have so far recorded one album, Turi Kumwe (We are Together), which is loaded with nine gospel songs. Our songs talk about our difficult past. They talk about our being born different and how we suffered. But more important, they talk about forgiveness for we have managed to forgive, from deep within our hearts, those who despised us because we are albinos. Those who abused us when were young.
“Before our father died, we forgave him. Our mother had told us before his death how he almost sold us when we were still young.
“We are stars now. When we go to Church to perform, people see us differently. People like our music and they don’t mind our skin colour. We are now well appreciated. They give us standing ovation after we have performed.
“It’s one thing to be born an albino because from your birth, you know that you’re different. Your own father and your own society will reject you. But what we are happy about is that we were born two. And the two of us made our own society. We have been friends from our young days. When the world rejected us, we stayed together, encouraging each other.
“God gave us talent and it’s through this that we are now spreading the gospel of forgiveness. We have managed to forgive our father – may his soul rest in peace. Our mother is very proud of what we have managed to achieve through music. She rescued us. She managed to survive with us through rejection and poverty. She is now a proud mother.

Ombudsman awards students

The Office of Ombudsman on Friday awarded 24 students in a drawing competition that started in June.
The competition required students from primary and secondary schools to come up with drawings connected to how members of the public get involved in corruption as well as fighting it.
During an event that took place in Kigali, eight students were each awarded Rwf 200,000 and a laptop.
“I am very happy that I have managed to top the list of best performers. Although it was my wish, I was not very sure that I could make it; I think I am lucky,” said senior one student Etienne Uwimana from Groupe Scolaire Jean de la Croix Ngamba.
Uwimana, 13, was the best among secondary school students scoring 90.5 points, while the primary school list was led by Leopold Kangabo who represented Groupe Scolaire Kimisagara with 81.5 points.
Other students who scored highly and walked away with the top prizes include Cedric Jabo Hirwa, Adeline Uwera and Eclen Nelly Dusabimana.
The other three best secondary students included Boris Kalisa, Ramadhan Kubwimana, and Hervé Shema Mucyo.
Every one of the four students in the second categories in both sections was awarded Rwf 100,000 with a laptop each while those in the third category received Rwf 50,000 with a laptop each.  
Speaking at the event, the State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Mathias Harebamungu, commended the Office of the Ombudsman for the initiative saying that it will encourage and promote fighting corruption among the youth.
“This actually gives hope that even the generation to come will uphold the fight and resist corruption,” he said.
He also noted that it will strengthen and contribute towards the national priority of having zero tolerance to corruption.
The Chief Ombudsman, Aloysie Cyanzayire, said that the competition attracted more than  10,000 participants.
“We actually considered what students themselves drew other than being helped, the reason we had to go as far as bringing them to draw in our presence,” she said.
Cyanzayire promised that similar competitions will be carried out in future as long as her office has capacity to conduct them.

We are ready – candidates for special groups

MP hopeful Nyiranzeyimana says fighting poverty at the grassroots is one of the issues she seeks to address. The New Times/ Eugene Kwibuka

Candidates seeking to represent women, the youth and people with disabilities in next month’s parliamentary elections say they are ready for the polls and only waiting for August 26 to hit the campaign trail.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) will disclose when and where these candidates will meet their respective electoral colleges and pitch their political agenda.

Depending on the size of the constituency, aspirants running for the 24-women-only seats will have an opportunity to campaign at two or three sites in each of the 30 districts.

Candidates for the youth and those eyeing the special slot for people living with disabilities will also meet their electoral colleges at designated areas with the facilitation of the electoral commission.

But most of the candidates declined to discuss their political agenda with the media, preferring to keep close tabs until the campaign period.

Gaston Rusiha, the head of the National Council for the Disabled, who is one of the 15 candidates eyeing the slot for the disabled, justified his reluctance to talk about what he intended to do for this special interest group, arguing that his competitors might copy his agenda.

 “It is still my secret,” he said on Tuesday, a day after NEC released the final list of 410 candidates who will tussle it out in various categories. “I’m keeping my message for the right time and looking forward to addressing the Electoral College once campaigns have kicked off.”

Candidates in this category are bidding to replace outgoing representative Pierre Claver Rwaka, who is not seeking re-election in this category but rather appears on the list of RPF candidates.

Justine Mukobwa, a Kigali resident, is among 23 candidates who are competing for the two seats reserved for the youth.

She, too declined to reveal her political agenda, only saying that her “passion” to serve the youth is the reason she is joining the race.

“I like serving the youth, that’s my passion,” she said.

The two outgoing youth representatives in the Chamber of Deputies, Marie Pelagie Uwamaliya Rutijanwa and Basile Bayihiki are also in the running to fill the 53 openly contested seats on the RPF ticket.

Broader issues

But some candidates were willing to state the broader issues around which their manifestoes would revolve.

Clarisse Mukansanga, who is seeking to represent women in the Western Province, said she would like to stand up against domestic violence once elected.

“I want to help women to speak out against this form of violence. I see it every day and if I get in Parliament I will be in a stronger position to speak out against it,” she said.

Mukansanga, 41, is among 103 candidates competing to occupy the 24 seats reserved for women, which have been allocated to five constituencies in proportion to the number of the population and registered voters recorded in those areas.

The constituencies include the City of Kigali (five candidates to battle for two seats), Southern Province (30 candidates to compete for six seats), Western Province (21 candidates for six seats), Eastern Province (21 candidates for six seats), and the Northern Province (21 candidates for four seats).

For Esperance Nyiranzeyimana, who is also running to represent women in the Western Province, fighting poverty at the grassroots is one of the issues she seeks to address.

She added: “We need thorough policies to bring to an end any form of violation of peoples’ rights,” she said, also citing what she called low levels of education among women in her constituency.

Dates and places for campaigns by candidates for special interest groups are not yet definite, but polls for the youth and the disabled are slated for September 17, while women will pick their representatives on September 18.

The elections to fill the 53 openly contested seats (normally dominated by candidates fronted by political parties) will be held on September 16.

The Chamber of Deputies has a total of 80 members.

Rwanda runs a bicameral parliament system.

Global Fund commends Rwanda on grant usage

Global Fund’s Mark Dybul and Dr Anita Asiimwe, the State Minister for Primary and Public Healthcare during the meeting yesterday. The New Times/ Irene Nayebare

Senior officials from Global Fund have commended Rwanda on how it has used the grant allocated towards the campaign to fight HIV prevalence in the country for the past three years.

The officials, led by Mark Dybul, the Executive Director of Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, were speaking yesterday during a meeting to review the impact of the $375 million project that they have funded in Rwanda over the past three years.

“I commend and congratulate Rwanda for the extra work done as far as reducing HIV infection from mother to child at birth, the fight against tuberculosis and malaria are concerned,” Dybul said.

According to Dr Daniel Ngamije, the coordinator of Single Project Implementation Unit in the Ministry of Health, they are also negotiating with Global Fund to finance another $25 million three-year project to fight tuberculosis.

“This year, Global Fund gave Rwanda $21 million (Rwf13.6 billion) to fight malaria while the government is in negotiations to get $25 million (Rwf16.2 billion) to fight tuberculosis, and $204 million for HIV,” Ngamije said.

Global Fund is among the key contributors to the fight against the three diseases in the country.

“It is an encouragement to have the executive director here, it not only shows the strong partnership we have, but also helps to assess the work done, identify challenges and chart the way forward,” Dr Anita Asiimwe, the State Minister for Primary and Public Healthcare, said.

Among other areas where the Global Fund money is spent is the distribution of Anti-Retroviral Therapy with 94 per cent of Rwandans infected with the virus accessing the treatment.

“Currently there are two people who contract HIV per hour down from five people five years ago,” said Sabin Nsanzimana, the head of the HIV fight division in the Ministry of Health. He added that this would not have been easy to achieve without the Global Fund support.

Significant reduction

Meanwhile, Dr Corine Karema, the Director of the National Malaria Control Programme, said prevalence has significantly reduced over the past five years.

“In 2002, malaria was the number one killer in Rwanda but in 2012, it moved to eighth position which shows a great improvement. More so, in 2005, 18 per cent of the households in Rwanda had treated mosquito nets and by 2012, 83 per cent was covered,” Karema said.

She noted that some of the challenges facing the fight against malaria include lack of regional harmonisation of malaria control interventions.

The Executive Director of Global Fund said they will be grateful to fund regional efforts to eradicate malaria since most of malaria registered cases come from the border areas.

According to Dr Michel Gasana, the Director of Tuberculosis Programme in the Ministry of Health, Tuberculosis mortality rate in Rwanda fell by 78 per cent, with the number of patients being followed at home for treatment increasing to 53 per cent in 2012 from 4 per cent in 2005.