The novel coronavirus pandemic, or COVID-19, has forced many of us inside our homes and asked of us to do something that does not come naturally to most human beings: stay away from each other. While social distancing- as it has come to be known- is crucial for curbing the spread of the virus and easing [...]
The excessive violence meted out to members of the public by soldiers of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) over the past weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown is fuelling racial tensions in South Africa, especially online. Their modus operandi exudes the long-lasting trauma of a country built on violence and structural oppression. During the Covid-19 [...]
Efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 have seriously disrupted the economy, but it is informal workers who have been disproportionately affected. Not only has the government lockdown exposed how invisible the informal sector is to policymakers, but it has also created a moral dilemma for workers in that sector who must choose between abiding by [...]
One year ago, on Friday May 8, something happened that would be unthinkable today. More than 17-million South Africans lined up around the country, without any concern for physical distancing, to cast their vote in the elections. Those elections seem like a lifetime ago. So much has changed since then and it seems increasingly difficult to imagine [...]
The stories follow a script: countries declare a nationwide lockdown and within days helplines are inundated with complaints of domestic violence. We saw this in China, Brazil, Italy and more recently South Africa where 87,000 grievances were reported to the South African Police Services (SAPS) during the first week of lockdown. Frequently referred to as the “shadow pandemic”, the [...]
The devastating and wide-ranging effects of Covid-19 have caused the disruption of human society on a global scale. The disease does not discriminate against its victims on the basis of nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, culture, religion or affluence and it has fuelled global pandemonium. As an initial reaction, governments called on their citizens to retreat within national [...]
Attention All Media Houses: For Immediate Release 17 April 2020 IJR Media Statement: Regarding the Strandfontein Temporary Homeless Shelter The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation would like to express its concern about recent reports describing the resettlement of homeless people at a temporary shelter Strandfontein, Cape Town. The homeless population are a vulnerable group in normal [...]
The dreaded Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the globe has already affected all aspects of our lives in ways that are not only still unfolding, but will be with us for a very long time. It is spreading across the world at such a ferocious speed that in only four months it has infected more than two million people and [...]
Attention Media Houses: For Immediate Release: Monday, 4 April 2020 PRESS RELEASE: IJR PUBLISHES POLICY BRIEF ON PUBLIC USE OF AND TRUST IN NEWS SOURCES To inform communication strategies during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) has published a new policy brief on South Africans’ use of and trust in news sources. [...]
Locking down entire cities and limiting movements of millions of people across the globe appears as one of the efficient strategies in efforts to limit the spread of the COVID-19. However, in the African context of informal economies, uncontrolled settlements, weak or inexistent health infrastructures as well as food insecurity, there is a huge challenge in [...]
