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An informal settlement in Cape Town: image courtesy of www.smart-energy.com

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of emergency in the country. The increase of infections then led to the President calling for a nation-wide lockdown, which would see a lot of services and operations in the country come to a stand-still. The lockdown was declared from 26 March 2020 to 16 April 2020, the first-ever since the country’s democracy. Some of the restrictions include; public transport reducing capacity, citizens staying at home and adhering to social distancing – with only essential services operating. The country currently has 1749 cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths.

The lockdown has not been without challenges, especially for vulnerable citizens who live in disadvantaged communities and environments – it has brought about a stark attention to the infringement of human rights. Although the Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu had assured the country that her ministry would work with together with the Ministry of Justice and the police to fight abuse of women and children – On 2nd April 2020, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced at a briefing that 87 000 cases of Gender-Based-Violence (GBV) had been recorded in the first week of the lockdown, which he later corrected by saying this number were statistics from the period between 2019 to date and that the number of cases reported thus far has been 2300 – with only 148 suspects arrested. Various cases like the incident where a police officer had been arrested for allegedly raping his wife continue to be investigated, including the murder of an elderly woman who was raped and killed by men who posed as South African National Defence Force (SANDF) employees sent to sanitize homes. A Fourteen-year-old girl was also allegedly raped and murdered in Soweto during this period on her way to a shop – Gauteng Police Spokesperson Kay Makhubele has confirmed that a 22-year old suspect has been arrested and that they are busy with the investigation to determine circumstances of this case.

Cele encouraged citizens to use the GBV command call centre: 0800 428 428 to report cases.  In an interview with eNCA-News Given Sigaugwe from Sonke Gender Justice said the high numbers of GBV were anticipated as victims would not be able to run away from their perpetrators, he encouraged society to come together by reporting cases and sharing information such as the GBV hotline with victims. 

Other challenges during this lockdown stem from people living in densely populated areas like the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg who have reported that they fear for their health and lives as they cannot conform to social distancing due to their poor living conditions. Communities in rural areas do not have water to wash their hands regularly as required – the government has however started rolling out water tankers in these communities to curb the spread of the virus.

Employees in other factories have also reported that their employers still require them to come to work even though they do not work in essential services, which they feel is a violation of their rights. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers (NEHAWU) has also lamented the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers who are at the forefront of treating COVID-19 patients – calling on the government to act swiftly to provide this equipment.

The brutality by the Police and SANDF on the streets has also been seen to violate citizens’ rights during the lockdown – Spokesperson of South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) told eNCA-News Channel that the commission is aware of this brutality and will take action accordingly; He further called on other civil agencies to act within their jurisdiction to assist.

At this point the ability to know, use, and shape the law is critical. The world’s most vulnerable populations, the very communities we support through our legal empowerment efforts — are reeling from the repercussions of lockdowns and quarantines. Increasingly, access to health care, sick leave, and assistance with unemployment will hinge on the ability to know one’s rights and navigate complex systems. And as emergency actions escalate, citizens will need to ensure that governments do not use the pandemic as an excuse to entrench unjust or discriminatory policies. Lawyers For Human Rights has also partnered with other civil agencies like Legal Resources Centre and ProBono.Org to set up a legal support hotline that citizens can use to access justice during the lockdown – the hotline is +27 66 076 8845.

Written by:

Gladys Matasane