Staff Reporter
The national task team dealing with violence against LGBTIQ+ people is tracking 36 priority hate-crime cases, including 18 murders and seven rapes, with 20 of the matters still under police investigation and no arrests made.
The National Task Team on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics said on Friday its Rapid Response Team had tabled the figures at a quarterly meeting held this week.
Of the 36 active cases, 16 have been enrolled in court, while the remaining 20 are still being investigated by police.
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The task team also raised concern over kidnappings, robberies and extortion linked to dating applications, including cases involving users of Grindr.
It said the Rapid Response Team was monitoring the cases nationally as part of efforts to strengthen oversight of hate-motivated crimes and improve coordination between police, prosecutors and civil society organisations.
Deputy Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Andries Nel, who co-chaired the meeting with civil society representative Sibonelo Ncanana-Trower, welcomed a commitment from Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo to participate in the task team’s work.
The task team said Boshielo’s involvement was expected to strengthen coordination with police and help address delays in investigations.
It also linked violence directed at LGBTIQ+ people to the crisis of gender-based violence and femicide in the country.
“The meeting noted the links between misogyny, violent discrimination, femicide and violence directed at LGBTIQ+ persons, and stressed the need for an effective and coordinated criminal justice response, including appropriate police visibility, thorough investigation and effective prosecution,” the task team said.
The task team urged victims and communities to report suspected hate crimes to the South African Police Service and, where appropriate, to provincial task teams or the national secretariat so cases could be monitored and support coordinated.
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The meeting also received an update on regulations required to bring the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act into operation.
Nel told the meeting that draft regulations under the 2023 law had been received by the ministry and were under consideration.
“Once approved, the Regulations must, as provided for in the Act, be submitted to Parliament for approval 60 days before publication in the Gazette,” the task team said.
“Their finalisation is an important step towards enabling the Act to come into operation.”
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The legislation establishes offences relating to hate crimes and hate speech, but its implementation depends on the finalisation of the regulations.
The task team said it had also strengthened provincial structures, with procedures finalised to allow Provincial Task Teams to access earmarked funding and provincial civil society co-chair elections completed.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities and the National Youth Development Agency participated in the meeting.
Three organisations — Outright International, the South African Workplace Equality Index and the MambaOnline Foundation — were also admitted as members of the national task team.
The meeting further discussed what it said was emerging continental and international campaigns opposing sexual and reproductive health rights, gender equality and the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.
It noted civil society mobilisation ahead of the Pan-African Conference on Family Values scheduled for May 2027 and reaffirmed its commitment to South Africa’s constitutional principles of equality, dignity and freedom.
