Good Hope MCC Newsletter for May 2013

In 2013 we will commemorate the Holy Week together with the congregation of the Central Methodist Mission in our shared home on Greenmarket Square. We will have shared services throughout the week.

On 8 March 2013, thousands of people around the world will take part in Ring the Bell action. Public and private sector institutions, universities, schools, civil society organisations, faith leaders and individual men and women will Ring the Bell in their companies, constituencies and communities.

Join Good Hope MCC on Saturday, 2 March 2013 as we march together at the Cape Town Pride Parade 2013.

Since 1990 thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people have been marching the streets of different cities and towns for liberation and justice. Over the years these pride marches have become less about struggles for freedom but more about celebration. Current contestations about pride point to a fractured lgbti community. What is the role and... meaning of lgbti pride in current day South Africa? And can pride address the spates of violence towards those in the community unable to march the streets of their townships?

Issued by the Hate Crimes Working Group

New research by the Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG) shows worrying trends: there is limited and inconsistent documentation of hate crimes in the country, which makes these crimes harder to combat. Despite various advocacy efforts by civil society organisations, real knowledge, expertise and thorough documentation in addressing hate crimes is lacking across all sectors in all provinces.