Section 12: Freedom and security of the person
This includes the following rights:
- Not to be put in prison without good reason
- Not to be detained without trial
- To be free from all kinds of violence in both public and private
- Not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhumane or degrading way; torture is not allowed.
- To make decisions about reproduction (having children)
- To have control over our own bodies
- Not to be forced to have medical or scientific experiments done on people
VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN THE HOME
Everyone has the right to be free from all forms of violence in the home. This right ensures that the government and the police must take measures to prevent domestic violence, for example, abuse of women and children in the home.
Among countries that collect gender-based violence (GBV) statistics, South Africa has one of the highest rates of GBV in the world. In May 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) reported that South Africa’s low levels of prosecution and conviction in domestic violence cases and the frequent failures by the police to serve and enforce protection orders exposed survivors to repeated abuses and resulted in the violation of women’s rights.
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
The Constitutional Court has said that punishing people and children by whipping them or giving them a caning goes against this right. The Abolition of Corporal Punishment Act (1998) says beating a child as a form of punishment is illegal because it goes against a child’s right to dignity and their right not to be treated in a degrading way.
Xenophobic attacks
There have been many xenophobic attacks on refugees and migrants, including people being killed if they fail to provide proof of their identity. An anti-migrant movement has been established in many provinces. These actions are a violation of the right to security of the person.