National Council of Provinces passes the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill

15 November 2023

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today during its hybrid plenary sitting, passed the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill. The Bill was passed by the National Assembly in March this year and sent to the NCOP for consideration.

Introduced in Parliament in 2018, the Bill marks a significant step towards the protection of all people in South Africa against hate crimes and hate speech, particularly those based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or any other form of discrimination.

Section 3 of the Bill defines a hate crime as an offence committed where the offender is motivated by prejudice or intolerance towards the victim of the crime because of specified characteristics or perceived characteristics of the victim or another person associated with the victim.

These characteristics listed as grounds that could constitute a hate crime include age; albinism; birth; colour; culture; disability; ethnic or social origin; gender or gender identity; HIV status; language; nationality, migrant or refugee status; occupation or trade; political affiliation or conviction; race; religion; sex, which includes intersex; or sexual orientation.

In Section 4 of the Bill, hate speech is defined as the intentional publishing or communicating of anything that can incite harm or promote hate based on grounds, including, among others, age, sexual orientation and race.

The Bill also provides for penalties such as fines, imprisonment, or both for those who are convicted of the offences.

The NCOP passed the Bill with proposed amendments and the Bill will be sent back to the Portfolio Committee on Justice to consider the Council’s proposed amendments.

Issued by Moloto Mothapo, Media Officer, Parliament, 15 November 2023