AfriForum proposes ten practical steps against farm murders at governmental rural safety workshop
26 January 2021
AfriForum proposed ten practical steps at a governmental workshop on rural and urban safety that will effectively combat the scourge of farm murders. Ernst Roets, Head of Policy and Action at AfriForum, participated virtually to present AfriForum’s perspective on and proposed solutions for rural safety and the issue of farm murders.
AfriForum’s presentation comprised an overview of the rural safety crisis and reasons why farm murders should be viewed as unique crimes, as well as the challenges that lead to conflict. The presentation also covered the issues of negative stereotyping of farmers and hate speech. Finally, AfriForum presented proposals for improving rural safety.
“Since 2012, AfriForum has been campaigning to have farm attacks and murders classified as priority crimes. It has also been an active player in the fight against farm attacks and murders since the organisation’s inception,” Roets says.
“AfriForum has reached out to government to present the facts on farm attacks and murders on a myriad of occasions before. However, we hope this presentation is the first of many more opportunities to bring our organisation’s detailed experience and research regarding rural safety to the table,” Roets concludes.