THE FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION AND CENTRE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS CONDEMN RACIALLY MOTIVATED ASSAULTS IN CAPE TOWN
The FW de Klerk Foundation and the Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) unreservedly condemn the recently reported assault on Delia Adonis, a cleaner working at a shopping centre in Claremont, Cape Town.
According to press reports the assault was racially motivated and involved the severe and cowardly beating of a 62-year-old woman by five young white men.
Incidents of this nature are irreconcilable with the constitutional values of dignity, non-racialism and non-sexism, and clearly violate the right to dignity and freedom and security of the person. They fly in the face of everything for which our Bill of Rights stands.
This incident should be seen in conjunction with a spate of recent racially motivated attacks in and around Cape Town. Apart from the obvious physical and psychological harm such incidents inflict on the victims they damage good relations between communities in our diverse multicultural society. They should accordingly be condemned by all South Africans.
The reported assault is also a shocking example of gender violence. It is exactly the kind of behaviour against which society is mobilising during the current 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the prevalence of violence against women, which is one of the most widespread violations of human rights in our society.