South Africans report racial discrimination by employers and courts
2016 is a landmark year in South Africa’s nation-building process. April 15 marked the 20th anniversary of the first hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which sought “to provide for the investigation and the establishment of as complete a picture as possible of the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights” committed during apartheid. The TRC has served as a model for transitional justice in Africa and globally, though it has faced criticism for failing to a d dress structural injustices.
Over the past few months, racist rhetoric on social and traditional media has renewed the national debate on discrimination and the lack of socioeconomic transformation since the transition from apartheid.
Findings from Afrobarometer’s 2015 survey in South Africa provide some evidence that these initiatives are indeed needed.
Key findings
-Although consistently low since 2006, the proportion of South Africans who believe that the government “always” or “often” discriminates against members of their ethnic community increased by 15 percentage point with a divergence between black and minority race groups.
- At least three in 10 Coloured, Indian and white respondents now feel discriminated against by the government versus at least one in 10 black citizens.
- A majority of citizens are most likely to feel discriminated against by employers, courts and potential landlords in the North West (59%), Gauteng (56%), and Western Cap e (55%) provinces.
Afrobarometer
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues a cross more than 30 countries in Africa. Five rounds of surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2013, and Round 6 surveys are currently under w ay (2014-2015). Afrobarometer conducts face-to- face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples of between 1,200 and 2,400 respondents.
The Afrobarometer team in South Africa, led by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) and Plus 94 Research, interviewed 2,400 adult South Africans in August and September 2015. A sample of this size yields results with a margin of error of [+/-2%] at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in South Africa in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2011.
CHARTS
Table 1: Racial discrimination by employers, courts, and landlords | by province | South Africa | 2015
|
Province |
Employers |
Courts |
Landlords |
Average |
|
North West |
70% |
54% |
54% |
59% |
|
Gauteng |
64% |
69% |
35% |
56% |
|
Western Cape |
51% |
61% |
52% |
55% |
|
KwaZulu-Natal |
57% |
59% |
40% |
52% |
|
Free State |
65% |
54% |
32% |
50% |
|
Eastern Cape |
48% |
51% |
41% |
47% |
|
Northern Cape |
43% |
48% |
35% |
42% |
|
Limpopo |
37% |
37% |
18% |
31% |
|
Mpumalanga |
56% |
16% |
4% |
25% |
Respondents were asked: In your opinion, how often in this country are people treated unequally because of their race by: Their current or prospective employers? The courts? Potential landlords? (% who say “ often” or “ always”)
Issued by Afrobarometer and Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, 20 April 2016
