FEW - Defending Women, Advancing Rights
Dear Friends, Comrades, Colleagues

In the past month we as the LGBTI community of South Africa have witnessed and experienced immense trauma and pain, due to the ongoing attacks killings against LGBTI persons. We say enough is enough. We met this past Friday and collectively decided to take action against hate-crimes and violence.

South Africa is increasingly shamed by the lack of response from key leaders in South Africa towards attacks against vulnerable persons, namely, LGBTI persons, refugees, migrants, immigrants and asylum seekers, women and children. WE have to put a stop to these homophobic and xenophobic attacks.

We call on you to join us on Mandela's Birthday, 18 July 2012, to give your 67 minutes to civic action against hate-crimes. Mandela gave his life for human rights and activism, and so should we. Mandela also gave his life for the vision of living in a free South Africa, he was a dedicated member of the ANC.

The ANC drafted the Freedom Charter and we fought against all forms of discrimination. Now we live in a democratic state with a progressive constitution, we have to uphold the ideals, that the "People's Power, Reign Supreme".

The ANC has failed us! the President of the ANC has been silent on violence, homophobia and xenophobia. The ANC has excluded sexual orientation from its gender policy and is silent on hate crimes and violence against LGBTI persons.

We are spending 67 minutes on Mandela's birthday, to protest against the silence of the ANC and demand action against hate crimes and violence.

Join us:

18 July 2012 Library Gardens, 11h00 - 13h00 in Johannesburg. We will hand over a memorandum to the ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe.

In addition we will hold a political and commemorative vigil at 6pm - 8pm, at the Women's Jail, Constitution Hill. Bring a blanket, a candle, flowers, anything you wish to bring to remember our fellow LGBTI friends and loved ones, killed over the past years.

For more information please contact
FEW : 011 4031907

In solidarity
Jabu

Statement to the Police Commissioner about Noxolo Nogwaza’s Murder case

25 April 2012

The brutal rapes and murders against lesbians in the past years has become more than a threat to the LGBTIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Asexual) community in South Africa. Aside from discrimination, abuse and violent crimes, the LGBTIA community also faces marginalization even though the Constitution of South Africa enshrines every citizen’s human rights.

Hate crimes against LGBTIA member’s often remains unreported and the slow response of the justice system to the reported crime only exacerbates the silence.

As Kaleidoscope Youth Network we urge the Police Commissioner to act with diligence and urgency to the brutal case of Noxolo Nogwaza of Kwa-Thema of Johannesburg who was brutally raped and then murdered, allegedly because she was a lesbian in 2011.

It is heart breaking and disconcerting that a year later; there has not been any concrete report from the police on her case. We request the office of the Police Commissioner to:

-Prioritize the arrests of Nogwaza’s murderers and rapists

- Show zero tolerance to perpetrators of hate crimes

- Defend the rights of LGBTIA citizens who are targeted on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, conveying a zero tolerance policy towards hate crime perpetrators.

- Prioritize existing hate crime trials in court. Multiple postponements are a terrible example of apathy when it comes to persecuting hate crime perpetrators.

We believe that justice delayed is justice denied and the lack of accountability, arrest and convictions of the perpetrators will perpetuate the mindset that rapes and murder committed against LGBTIA individuals is acceptable.

South Africa is a young democracy with a very painful past where South African’s have lived with discrimination and segregation based on their differences; there was a hope that such circumstances would never happen again in this democracy many gave up their lives to achieve.

We hope that the Commissioner will hear our call and respond with great urgency to bring those responsible for Nogwaza’s death to book. The future of our democracy depends on it.

This statement was issued by

Kaleidoscope Youth Network Auxiliary Committee

Jan Malatjie, PRO