Projects Abroad Human Rights Office - Events

On Monday 29th November, the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office hosted it’s first ever conference on 'Violent Crime in South Africa'.

The conference focused on the issues surrounding violent crime in South Africa. We debated the reasons why crime is so violent in South Africa, looked at the responsibility of the State to protect its citizens from violent crime, and assessed the treatment of victims in the criminal justice system. There was a chance for those from different communities in Cape Town including Lavender Hill, Manenberg, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu to discuss their experiences of violent crime.

The Provincial Minister for Community Safety, MEC Albert Fritz, was in attendance and discussed the State's response to violent crime, whilst Judge Vincent Saldanha addressed the nature of violent crime in South Africa. Marjorie Jobson (Khulumani Support Group) and Orly Stern (Independent Researcher in Human Rights, Gender and Conflict) discussed the issues relating to violent crime in rural communities and sexual violence respectively.

PAHRO Conference on Violent Crime in South Africa

Monday, 29th November 2010

Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town

The 2010 PAHRO Conference focused on the issue of violent crime in South Africa and aimed to stimulate multi-disciplinary dialogue on a crucial issue that cuts across the fabric of society, debating the nature of violent crime, the responsibility of the State to protect its citizens and the effect of violent crime on communities in Cape Town.

The conference was convened by Laura Rodgers (PAHRO Professional Volunteer), Lyndon Metembo (PAHRO Social Justice Coordinator) and Theodore Kamwimbi (PAHRO Manager) in response to a call for research into the area of violent crime by the National Minister of Police, Mr. Mthethwa. This request coincided with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) presenting a long-awaited report on violent crime to government and high profile murder cases being covered in the national and international media.

PAHRO were pleased to welcome the Provincial Minister for Community Safety, MEC Albert Fritz, and Judge of the Western Cape High Court, Justice Vincent Saldanha, as keynote speakers. They were joined by Dr Majorie Jobson (National Director, Khulumani Support Group), Jody Fredericks (Legal Adviser, Women’s Legal Centre) and Sarah Crawford-Browne (Clinical Social Worker, University of Cape Town). Dana Myers (Director, Projects Abroad South Africa) welcomed over 70 participants to the conference for a day of engaging keynote presentations and lively discussion panels.

PAHRO recognised the need to address issues of violent crime at a community level and prior to the conference, focus groups were held in Lavender Hill, Manenberg and Khayelitsha, providing community members with the opportunity to comment on the nature of violent crime in their community, give their opinion on why crime is so violent and offer their recommendations for improving the crime rates in their area. These focus groups were recorded and key comments were relayed to the conference participants and MEC Fritz for comment and discussion.

Conference Resources

Click on the links for;

Session 1: "Crime in South Africa is violent in nature" (N. Mthethwa)
Chaired by: Professor P Schwikkard, Dean of the Law Faculty, University of Cape Town

Keynote Speaker: Justice Vincent Saldanha
'Is there something different about the violence of crime in South Africa?'
Click here for podcast of this presentation

Session 1 Panel: Sarah Crawford-Browne, Lyndon Metembo and Laura Rodgers'In Focus: The nature of crime – perceptions from the community'
Click here for podcast of this discussion

Session 2 - "Violence in South Africa has its roots in a culture of criminality" (CSVR)
Chaired by: Nick Shepherd, Associate Professor, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town

Keynote speaker: Jody Fredericks
'Violence against Women'

Keynote speaker: Dr Marjorie Jobson
'Crime in post-apartheid South Africa ; Communities under Threat'

Click here for podcast of these presentations
Click here for Dr Marjorie Jobson’s Powerpoint Presentation (PDF)

Session 3 - "The State must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights" (Constitution of South Africa)
Chaired by: Hennie van Vuuren, Director, Institute for Security Studies (Cape Town Office)

Keynote speaker: MEC Fritz'The State’s response to violent crime'
Click here for podcast of this presentation
Click here for podcast of Q&A discussion

Session 3 Panel: Lyndon Metembo and Laura Rodgers
'In Focus: Community insight into the (in)effectiveness of crime prevention'
Click here for podcast of this presentation

The conference generated much interest in both the academic and NGO communities in Cape Town and PAHRO hope to pursue this theme with further research and engagement with community groups. A conference report will be produced and this will be available on the PAHRO website in the near future. Projects Abroad Journalism Volunteers also joined with PAHRO in covering the conference and articles will be printed in the Cape Chameleon.