By Hassan Isilow
JOHANNESBURG (AA) – Patterns of racism and systemic racial inequality remain entrenched in South Africa despite the end of apartheid, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said in a report released Monday.
The commission which receives different types of rights violations said racism had topped its list of complaints.
“The percentage of race related complaints is increasing year on year and reached 69 percent in 2016/17,” the commission said in its report that gives an overview of complaints recorded from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017.
A total of 486 race related complaints were recorded in 2016/17 in South Africa, a country which emerged from decades of bitter racial segregation known as apartheid in 1994.
The commission which is mandated to promote a culture of human rights and constitutional democracy said incidents of racism were comitted on social media, at schools, universities, and the workplace among others.
The report says persistent inequality and extreme poverty contributed to the ongoing violations.
“Racism is systemic and racist attitudes remain largely unchanged,” it said adding that many poor black people, working on farms and in homes as domestic helps faced racism as part of their daily lives.
In South Africa, whites still control most of the economy while, blacks who are the majority remain employees.
According to the report, racism is not only limited to verbal abuse, but often also entail physical violence and intimidation among other forms.
South African courts are now taking a tough stance on racists. Earlier this year, a court in Johannesburg, jailed Vicky Momberg, 49, to two years in prison for racially abusing black police officers.
The officers had come to her rescue after her car windows had been smashed by thieves, but she instead racially abused them.
