The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is a South African, membership-based, community NGO that focuses on campaigning for safety and security for all. It has undertaken a wide range of campaigns to promote this, including applying pressure on the South African government to ensure good governance in all its departments, campaigning against xenophobic violence, and campaigning for access to safe and clean water and sanitation services for residents of informal settlements specifically, but by extension all people in South Africa. The SJC is currently based in Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha is a partially informal township in Western Cape, South Africa, located on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town. The name is Xhosa for New Home...

, Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

.

History

The SJC was founded in 2008 in response to xenophobic attacks that swept across South Africa, leaving 62 people dead and over 30 000 displaced . The SJC was formed to address many of the underlying social issues that can be seen to have manifested themselves in these violent attacks. These were identified as social and economic disparities that lead to anger amongst poor and marginalised South Africans. The SJC states that it attempts to address these inequalities in the hope that by campaigning for these concerns and giving a voice to the marginalised, future violence and crime could be avoided .

Structure

The SJC is based in Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha

Khayelitsha is a partially informal township in Western Cape, South Africa, located on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town. The name is Xhosa for New Home...

 South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It has several branches throughout the Khayelitsha area and a branch based at the University of Cape Town

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...

. Past branches have been based in Kraaifontein and the Cape Town CBD. Weekly branch meeting are held where SJC facilitators run educational activities for community members centred on the campaigns the SJC is involved in.

Campaigns

Good governance

The SJC has put pressure on government to investigate the South African Arms Deal

South African Arms Deal

The South African Arms Deal was a US$4.8 billion purchase of weaponry by the South African Government finalised in 1999 which has been subject to allegations of corruption....

 in order to establish whether any government officials abused their positions and received bribes to push through the deal. A public campaign took place throughout 2009 to achieve this .

Refugee rights

As a result of being founded on the basis of the wide prevalence of Xenophobia in South Africa

Xenophobia in South Africa

Prior to 1994 immigrants from elsewhere in Africa faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa, though much of that risk stemmed from the institutionalised racism of the time due to apartheid. Post 1994 and democratisation, and contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased...

 the SJC undertook educational campaigns in centres affected by xenophobia throughout 2008 and 2009, with the aim of reducing tensions within these communities. In July 2010, the SJC responded to rising tensions between indigenous South Africans and foreigners by working to calm the situation

Safety and security

As one of its primary focuses, the SJC addresses, through education and campaigns, the conditions that lead to an unsafe South Africa. Emphasis is placed on government's failed attempts at service delivery in the poorest areas of South Africa as the cause of much of the violent and criminal activities affecting South Africa. Educational activities attempt to practically empower residents of working class neighbourhoods to take basic steps to help better protect themselves and create awareness as to why violence and criminality occurs. The SJC also places pressure on government to create a better criminal justice system and improve service delivery for all people living in South Africa.

Safe toilets campaign

After consultation with the residents of Khayelitsha, the SJC undertook a campaign for the provision of clean and dignified sanitation in Khayelitsha. The lack of provision of toilets increases the chances of being subjected to crime as residents in informal settlements are forced to walk significant distances to relieve themselves . The SJC has recorded multiple instances of crime in these situations which it has present to the local government in Cape Town . Additionally, the SJC works with the City of Cape Town

City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of 2007, it had a population of 3,497,097....

to improve the sanitation infrastructure inside Khayelitsha, with a particular focus on RR informal settlement . The SJC claims that the provision of more, better serviced toilets, will increase safety and security in Khayelitsha and improve the general health of the residents .

The SJC currently runs educational activities inside Khayelitsha to create awareness of these issues and recently hosted a "Toilet queue" protest in Cape Town to highlight the inadequate sanitation facilities and its consequences inside South Africa's informal settlements