Transsexual triumphs over abusive neighbour
October 13 2012 at 04:18pm
By SAPAhttp://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/transsexual-triumphs-over-abusive-neighbour-1.1402341#.UHnHncWHLs4Roodepoort - A Roodepoort Equality Court ruling, condemning a local woman's harassment of her transsexual neighbour, has been hailed as a victory for the victims of hate speech.
"People have been allowed to say what they wanted to vulnerable groups of our society for far too long without suffering the consequences," lawyer Michal Johnson of Eversheds in Johannesburg said on Friday.
"The ruling sent out a clear message that the act afforded protection to victims of hate speech and that the courts would enforce their constitutional rights."
Johnson represented the brother of Ambrose Lallu, a 41-year-old hairdresser from Roodepoort, who had been awarded damages in his hate speech case against his former neighbour Wilna van Staden.
Lallu and his brother used to live with his parents in a townhouse complex in Roodepoort, but claimed they were forced to move because of Van Staden's harassment.
After getting notice of Lallu's hate speech complaint against her, Van Staden allegedly invited other residents to her home for a braai, at which certain guests loudly discussed having him and his brother killed and raped.
