Keynote address by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Hon John Jeffery, MP, at the launch of the "I Serve Equally" Campaign, held at Atteridgeville Community Hall, Pretoria
Programme Directors,
Mme Manganye, mother of Lesego Manganye,
Ms Steve Letsike of Access Chapter 2,
Various representatives of civil society,
Distinguished guests.
In a discussion held by the Open Society Foundations, called LGBTI Rights and the Global Culture Wars, Mark Gevisser said, and I’m quoting from the transcript -
“… there's a global conversation happening around sexual orientation and gender identity… which was unimaginable ten years ago. Unimaginable. And… it's a global conversation. It's happening….”
The discussion explores how, in the wake of advances in the campaign to achieve same-sex marriage and increased access to gender transition in some parts of the world, and the increased criminalization of homosexuality in others, LGBTI rights have become the “latest battleground in the global culture wars.”
While the world still has a long way to go in achieving true sexual orientation equality, the fact that LGBTI rights are the topic of this global conversation is progress in and of itself. Keeping LGBTI rights on the global agenda, means raising awareness.
This is exactly what the I Serve Equally and I am Chapter 2 campaigns, that we are launching today, seek to achieve. It seeks to raise awareness of the struggle of LGBTI people who are stigmatised, who often face discrimination and become the victims of secondary victimisation when they try to seek justice.
The I Serve Equally campaign was established to address challenges faced by LGBTI people when reporting both criminal and discrimination cases. The campaign's intention is to foster the delivery of quality services to all people – irrespective of sexual orientation, race, and gender. All persons who face discrimination hate crimes or violence should be afforded the same support and their matter should be treated with the same diligence.
The I Serve Equally Campaign will be launched in memory of the many hate crime victims in the LGBTI community and, importantly, to honour and remember Lesego "Small" Manganye who tragically committed suicide earlier this year, after being the victim of two incidents of rape and finding the trauma of the criminal justice system too much to bear.
To Mme Manganye, we feel your pain at the loss of your daughter. No person, in a country such as ours, where we are supposed to embrace our freedoms, should ever have to feel such despair as Lesego had. No parent should ever have to feel the loss of a child.
Please take comfort in the fact Lesego’s life has brought us together, here today, to once again dedicate ourselves to making the world a better and safer place for LGBTI persons.
In August this year another mother - this time in Bethlehem in the Free State – also mourned the suicide of her gay 18-year-old daughter. According to South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) suicide rates in South Africa have more than doubled in the last 15 years and research shows that LGBTI youth are a higher risk for suicide.
Psychologists have attributed LGBTI youth’s increased risk to feelings of rejection and isolation that may stem from stigma around same-sex sexuality.
There is help and support available for LGBTI youth faced with depression and anxiety. In our department’s LGBTI pamphlet we list various organisations, with their contact details and helplines. Many of the civil society organisations here today are able to assist, counsel and support. We must ensure that this information is readily available in our communities.
But, at the heart of all the work we do on LGBTI issues, lies one central message: That we must change societal attitudes. It is a message that we must repeat over and over, and yet over again. Having the most progressive laws on the statute book is not enough. We must build communities and a society in which LGBTI persons are accepted and respected.
Our courts are sending the message that homophobia, hate crimes and discrimination will not be tolerated. Many of you will be aware of the case which was concluded recently of an Eastern Cape man found guilty of raping his lesbian cousin. He forced his forced his way into the victim’s home, telling her that he was there to prevent her from being a lesbian. He has subsequently been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In the Western Cape High Court, Acting Judge Leslie Weinkove recently awarded a lesbian and her former partner R150 000 each in damages for an unprovoked attack on their dignity in a pub. The court found they suffered physical intimidation and emotional humiliation as a result of their sexual orientation.
The pub owner allegedly said he did not personally object to them, but that there was an objection to them as a lesbian couple. The court awarded separate damages for medical expenses, counseling and lost earnings. The couple had successfully pursued the case through both the criminal and civil courts.
After judgment was handed down, one of the women said: “People often think it’s because of the money. This has nothing to do with the money. This was to make a statement that this cannot be done to people anymore. Gay people are harassed, badmouthed and heckled and there has been an escalation to a point that is unacceptable.”
The harassment and victimisation of LGBTI persons will only stop if we keep sending a message of respect and acceptance of LGBTI persons. Gay rights are human rights. That is why I was particularly perturbed to read reports that a Western Cape politician – a member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature – recently said he was “nauseated” by the thought of educating high school students about homosexuality. The ACDP’s MPL, Ferlon Christians, reportedly told the Provincial Parliament not to support or condone “sin” and quoted from the Bible, citing a verse that lists gay people along with thieves, the greedy, drunkards and slanderers.
Mr Christians must be reminded that, when he assumed office, he took an oath to uphold the Constitution – a Constitution build on the values of human dignity, freedom and equality. His remarks fly in face of these constitutional values.
If Mr Christians cannot uphold the Constitution, he should not hold public office. And this applies to officials employed in the Public Service. The Code of Conduct of the Public Service further commits public servants to deliver services impartially, fairly, equitably and without any bias. We therefore call upon all officials working the justice system to uphold these values with integrity and distinction.
On the issue of service delivery, we are pleased to note that the Department of Social Development’s Gender-Based Violence Command Centre (GBVCC) recently won the Global Best Contact Centre Award in Las Vegas, USA. The GBVCC is a 24-hour call centre dedicated to providing support and counselling to victims of gender-based violence.
The uniqueness of this centre is that it uses mobile technology to estimate the location of a victim, assign the closest social worker in the field to the case, and record and receive continuous feedback on the case. This enables a quick response from the police, medical teams as well as social services. Government is confident that the centre provides an unparalleled example that can be implemented across other service delivery orientated departments.
Many of you are on the LGBTI National Task Team or are familiar with the work of the NTT. I am pleased to report back that we have had an extremely successful national workshop on the National Intervention Strategy with civil society and the Provincial Task Team representatives. The outcome of the workshop was a consolidated Work Plan for Nov 2015 to end March 2016 and the one for 2016/2017 financial period.
Individual provinces will now be submitting their specific work plans which we will cost for budget allocation and implementation purposes. Great strides have been made and the PTTs are now ready to implement the National Intervention Strategy activities, namely community dialogues, awareness initiatives and the roll out of the Rapid Response Teams, amongst others. In taking forward the resolution of the Rapid Response Team meeting held early in July 2015, a CSO national workshop on the Criminal Justice System will be taking place today and tomorrow.
This workshop is critical in ensuring the effective roll-out and coordination of the Rapid Response Teams in the regions and provinces. Regarding the LGBTI Africa Regional Seminar, I am pleased to report that a Steering Committee has been convened and is being chaired by the SAHRC.
The Regional Seminar is an important development and is based on the resolution adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, entitled “Protection against Violence and other Human Rights Violations on the basis of their real or imputed Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity”. The resolution was adopted by the Commission at its 55th Ordinary Session held in Luanda, Angola, from 28 April to 12 May 2014.
The Africa Regional Seminar will be held from 3 to 5 March 2016 and that the proposed venue for the Regional Seminar will be the Pan African Parliament, so as to strategically elevate the profile of the event.
The objective of the seminar will be to facilitate an open, constructive and informed dialogue on the issue of discrimination and acts of violence against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and generate greater understanding on the root causes and manifestation of these challenges. The three day programme will focus on lived experiences by survivors of violence, the legal framework, policy interventions and practical solutions and the outcome being a declaration by participants.
Government is committed to fighting all forms of sexual and gender-based violence. All cases of rape, sexual assault or any form of violence should be reported to the police and be brought to the attention of our Rapid Response Teams.
Working together – government, civil society and our communities - we can stamp out violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
The most important message we need to send is one of our common humanity. Regardless of the colour of our skin, our gender or our sexual orientation, we all want the same things - respect, care, compassion and acceptance. We are all human beings.
As poet Maya Angelou writes in her poem “Human Family” -
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major, we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
I thank you.
