Cape Town - Civil Society organisation OUT LGBT-Wellbeing (OUT) has launched yet another campaign in support of the LGBTQIA+ community, but this time the campaign is focused on making the Equality Courts a friendly ally to the community.
South African Equality Courts are specialised courts designated to hear matters relating to unfair discrimination, hate speech and harassment.
OUT announced the launch of its 4-month-long campaign with a strong message aimed at the country’s courts saying it was time to educate South Africa's LGBTQIA+ community about the court’s functions and how to effectively access them.
OUT’s campaign is supported by Open Society Foundations and will see the non-profit organisation publish a series of social media posts that emphasise key facts about Equality Courts.
According to OUT, the posts will all be linked to an easy-to-understand, step-by-step online guide on how LGBTQIA+ persons can use Equality Courts.
“Additionally, OUT is hosting community workshops in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape to educate individuals on accessing these courts,” the organisation said.
Commenting on the launch of the campaign, OUT human rights Co-ordinator Sibonelo Ncanana said while the unique nature of Equality Courts was what made them different from other courts, they remain underutilised and relatively unknown among those who needed them most.
Ncanana said: “Equality Courts are available at any Magistrate’s Court throughout the country, and there are no associated costs for complainants, who also do not require legal representation.
“OUT has achieved several successes in Equality Courts, most notably in the recent Steve Hofmeyr hate speech case, where they collaborated with the SA Human Rights Commission to ensure that the singer was brought to book.”
In March, musician Steve Hofmeyr was fined R100 000 by the Equality Court and also ordered to apologise for controversial social media posts he made in April 2022, saying the LGBTQIA+ acronym included those who engaged in bestiality.
Hofmeyr also commented that the LGBTQIA+ community supported “grooming” children.
The Cape Times reported that the judgment handed down in Hofmeyr’s case was because of an agreement reached between the South African Human Rights Commission and OUT in the Gqeberha High Court, sitting as the Equality Court.
“As evidenced by two recent instances of anti-LGBTQIA+ storefront signs in Gqeberha, South Africa's LGBTQIA+ community faces escalating intolerance and hate speech targeting individuals due to their gender identity or sexual orientation.
“LGBTQIA+ South Africans must be informed about these courts as a means to assert their equal rights,” Ncanana said.