MediaOur News and EventsTransitional Justice, Violence PreventionReview of "A Nation Without Guns," by CSVR Executive Director Adèle KirstenKirsten, Adèle, 2007. A Nation Without Guns? The Story of Gun Free South Africa. Scottsville: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. xx 244 pp. ISBN 9781869141356. Feinstein, Andrew, 2007. After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC. Johannesburg: Jonathan Bull. xiv 287 pp. ISBN 9781868422623. From very different standpoints, these authors have written two fascinating accounts of South African… Read More CSVRJune 11, 2008
ArticlesMediaGender-based Violence, Trauma and TransitionViolence Hits Women HardMore than 50 people have died, hundreds have been injured and thousands displaced in the wave of xenophobic violence that swept across South Africa in recent weeks. While media reports described the brutality of the attacks on foreign nationals - which included beatings, stabbings, torching and property seizures - women caught up in the crisis have been especially vulnerable. While… Read More CSVRJune 1, 2008
ArticlesMediaInequalities, Migrants and Xenophobia, Transitional JusticeScarcity Sets Fire to SA's Xenophobic TinderboxIn January, acts of violence and intimidation were perpetrated against foreigners in Soshanguve. In March, foreigners’ home-based businesses were vandalised and items stolen in Atteridgeville West. In April, South African nationals looted the shops and burned the homes of foreigners in Mamelodi East. And just this week, South African nationals beat, raped and looted the homes of foreigners in Alexandra… Read More CSVRMay 22, 2008
ArticlesMediaPolicingDemise of Scorpions Will Be Dismal for DemocracyOne of the most contentious issues in South Africa today concerns the future of the Directorate of Special Operations (‘the Scorpions’) related to the fact that the African National Congress appears to be determined to disband the unit in line with a resolution passed in December at the ANC national conference in Polokwane. Closing the Scorpions will centralise South Africa’s… Read More CSVRMay 4, 2008
PublicationsResearchMigrants and XenophobiaSeminar: Why do We Fear and Hate the 'Other'? Understanding Xenophobia in the South African ContextThe 2008 brutal attacks against foreign nationals and the subsequent displacement of thousands of others have raised questions to the extent to which human rights are truly understood and protected in South Africa. Against this backdrop, CSVR hosted a seminar to discuss theoretical understandings of xenophobia and their implications for policy making and implementation, research and advocacy, as well as… Read More CSVRMay 1, 2008
ArticlesMediaRacism, Transitional JusticeRacism Still a Threat to South Africa's DemocracyThe issue of racism has once again been front page news in recent weeks. Its damaging manifestation is a reminder that it is one issue we cannot afford to wish away. Arguably the most degrading of all acts of racism to have been reported in our country in the recent past is the one illustrated in the racist video from… Read More CSVRMarch 23, 2008
