The incidence of hate crimes against members of South Africa’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community remains disturbingly high.

This is despite constitutional protection against discrimination and the enactment of various laws that promote equality and prohibit discrimination, says North-West University (NWU) master’s graduate Karabo Seleka.

During his LLM studies, Karabo looked into the legislation and prosecution of hate crimes experienced by the LGBT community in South Africa. 

The study titled “Prosecuting LGBT hate crimes: analysis on the necessity for hate crime legislation in South Africa”, and considered the need for legislation that specifically addresses hate crimes.

The context of Karabo’s study was Section 9 of the Constitution and the lived experiences of the LGBT community. 

Karabo says the persistence of anti-LGBT hate crimes is alarming, and the study presents a case for specialised legislation dealing with such crimes.

“It is a contribution to the development of South African criminal law, an area of law deemed essential in ensuring that the constitutional values of equality are upheld,” he says. 

“It further touches on the readiness of state officials to prosecute hate crimes, their sensitisation towards LGBT issues, and the thorough interpretation and application of the proposed Hate Crimes Bill.” 

Karabo says the South African Constitution’s equality clause is often counted among the best in the world, and prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. 

“Thus far, there has been little research that reflects whether this protection has been practically carried out for the benefit of the constituents whose interests it theoretically undertakes to uphold,” he says. 

“In recent years, various social and legal actors have called for the government to actively address the issue of hate crimes, taking special cognisance of the country’s history of inequality and institutionalised discrimination.”

 Karabo Seleka.