1. The Hate and Bias Crimes Monitoring Form Project January 2013 – September 2017
Presented at the launch of the research report
Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre
8 February 2018
Prof Juan A. Nel
(Research Professor: UNISA Department of Psychology;
HCWG lead researcher; Member of PsySSA Council)
Yolanda Mitchell
(Ubora Research Solutions)

2. ‘Take home’ messages
Most comprehensive/ in-depth study of hate incidents in SA, to date
An evidence base re occurrence, nature & impact (but not prevalence) now at the disposal of legislators/ policy makers
Hate incidents have an especially traumatic effect on victims, with additional consequences for communities & society
Some targeted more, but all affected/ ↓↓ recourse
Skewness in whose/ which experiences given more attention
HCWG not a proponent of criminalisation of hate speech (other remedies already exist), but words do matter and can be hurtful & harmful
All have role to play in meaningful response
Social problems require social solutions…

3. HCWG: Developing a hate and bias crimes monitoring tool for the South African context

4. Need for Monitoring Hate Incidents
Historically no monitoring of hate incidents across vulnerable sectors in SA
Legislative importance:
Send a clear message that hate crime will not be accepted (Jeff Radebe, Former SA Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, 2014)
Unlock resources for raising awareness and training of service providers
Social / Societal importance:
Internationally considered a priority crime, on basis of severity of emotional & psychological impact rather than prevalence
Reaches beyond individual victim, affecting communities and extending to society

5. The journey:
Need for collation of available, intersectoral data established in
NOT a prevalence study
Inclusivity - broader and more generic in nature
↑ Government awareness of types of hate incidents happening
Improving future policy and strategies for addressing hate incidents
Monitoring the extent of hate incidents in respective sectors
Monitoring form collaboratively developed and piloted by a range of stakeholders,
5-year longitudinal study

6. What data did we collect?
Set goal of collecting 900 cases across sectors and in 5 provinces (EC, Gauteng, KZN, Limpopo, WC)
Gathered 1061; 945 retained for analysis
Information on:
Demographics
Current incident details
The profile of the alleged offender(s)
Police – involvement and reaction
Access to court procedures
Access to healthcare and support
Previous incidents

7. Key findings (for today)
The numbers and the people
Who were victims of hate incidents?
What types of incidents were recorded?
Who were perpetrators of hate incidents?
What was the impact on the victims?
What was SA’s response to hate incidents?
Recommendations

8. The numbers and the people

9. Who were victims of hate incidents?
Age range: 0-81
Race: no-one exempt
Some vulnerable groups targeted more often / more often recorded due to reports in media and by participating organisations (report: p. 14)
Nationality (language plays a role)
Sexual orientation / gender identity
Dual vulnerabilities
Judaism (hate speech / defamation)

10. What types of incidents were recorded?
Media focus v. daily experience (report: p. 13)
Murder 4%; Rape 4%; Assault 14%
Theft 30%; Damage to property 27%
Intimidation 34%; Harassment 22%
IUD 19%; Threatened with weapon 12%
‘Minor’ crimes; major impact
Message crimes
Extreme cruelty / overkill
Total destruction

11. Who were perpetrators of hate incidents?
??? – information missing
Individuals: me; you; our neighbours
Whole communities
Teachers and preachers
Doctors and nurses
Police officers
Politicians

12. What was the impact on the victims?
Individual
Cumulative
Lasting
Debilitating
Emotional; mental; physical; economic; relationships (report: p. 15)
Family / community
Debilitated individuals; debilitated families
Love begins at home; hate does too
Society
Security and trust: lost; fear and anger spreads
Positive impact?

13. What was SA’s response to hate incidents?
Civil society, Chapter 9’s, statutory bodies
Good efforts within their abilities and mandates, but overwhelmed
National structures
Criminal justice
Two in three cases not reported to police
Offenders apprehended in one quarter of reported cases
Only 62 cases seen through to verdict; 16 convictions incl hate motive
Task teams / action plans
Proposed legislation
IN EVERY CASE, SOMEONE HAS BEEN IMPRISONED...

14. Recommendations Monitoring and recording hate crimes
Develop guidelines for responding to hate crimes
What can you do?
Individually
In your community
In your country

15. Thank you...
Supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA)
Project Assistance by the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) and the Independent Projects Trust

16. Contact details hcwg.org.za Prof Juan Nel
Cell: +27(0) or