Grade 8 LO Notes

Term 4

Unit 21 Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities.

Human Rights Violations (pg 152-154)

Human rights are the rights that people have in order to be treated with respect and dignity. They
are universal rights that apply to all human beings no matter what race, religion or colour they are,
or where they come from. Homeless refugees have the same human rights have the same rights as
the president of a country. Even murderers have human rights.

What are human rights?

If someone abuses or ignores your rights, it is called a violation of those rights. For example, if
someone treats a person differently because of his or her race, gender, age or ethnicity, that person’s
right to equality has been violated.

Types of Human Rights Violations

• Rights may be violated by the behaviour of an individual or a group.

• Human rights violations may take place on a large scale such as massacres.
• They may take place at an individual level such as abuse.

South African Human Rights

Every person has the Right to:

• Human dignity
• Life
• Protection from forced labour and slavery.
• Privacy
• Religion, belief and opinion
• Assembly, demonstration, picket and protest.
• Protection of citizenship
• Protection from mistreatment, neglect or abuse
• Choose friends and associates.
• Choice of language and culture.

Do Activity 23.1 : Human Rights Violations.

Read through the different types of human rights violations committed around the world(pg 155-
163.)
Gender Equity (pg 163- 169)

Gender equity means the fair treatment of men and women according to their different needs.

Do activity 23.4 Gender Equity on pg 164.

Gender equity issues in sport.

Gender equity in sport means treating men and women fairly and making sure both genders have
equal access to opportunities and resources.

Suggestions on how to build gender equity in sport.

• Play traditional games together

• Hold mixed tournaments.
• Girls can referee boys matches and vice versa.
• Take part in other team building activities.

Do activity 23.5 on page 168.

Gender based violence -GBV (pg 169 -183)

Gender based violence may be defined as any form of behaviour including psychological, physical
and sexual behaviour- that is based on gender differences between males and females and is
intended to control, humiliate or harm the individual.

Examples of GBV

• Sexual violence (rape, sexual mistreatment and forced prostitution).

• Domestic violence
• Trafficking
• Forced/early marriage
• Harmful traditional practices (genital mutilation, honour killings, widow inheritance)

Do Activity 23.6 pg 171.

The Emotional Impact of Violence (p 171 – 174)

- Abusers might tell their victims “I love you that’s why I hit you”. The victim might believe this
and think that being abused is what love really is.

- The victim might be told “it’s your fault that the abuse happened” This will leave the victim
with a low self- esteem, feeling hopeless and depressed. Maybe even suicidal.

- The victim may also hear statements such as “it’s for your own good” from the abuser. The
victim might then believe that others know what’s best for them. They have poor judgement.

- “No one will believe you”, the abuser tries to manipulate and isolate the victim by saying that
no one cares about the victim. This will make it harder for the victim to report the abuse.

- “No one will love you like I do “- the abuser makes the victim believe that they are
dependant on them. This makes the victim feel stuck in the abusive relationship.

The Social Impact of Violence

Victims of GBV may experience the following:

- Rejected by society.
- May not be able to engage in community life.
- Find it difficult to interact with members of the community, especially men.
- May experience discrimination at the work place and loss of income.
- Men may be reluctant to marry a woman who has been raped.
- Children born as a result of rape may experience abandonment, neglect and further abuse.
Read through the Prevention of violence against women: law on sexual offences (p 175- 176)

Read through the Sources for help for victims: safety for girls and women. (p 176 -181)

Do activity 23.8 (pg 181)- Choose and work through THREE of the 6 scenarios marked A- F (p 181 –
183)

Cultural diversity in South Africa.

Culture may be defined as the values, beliefs, traditions, customs, attitudes and behaviour created
and shared by a particular social, ethnic or age group that are bound together by factors such as a
common history, where they live, language, social class or religion.

Do Activity 25.1 (p 190)

Read and discuss the different cultures found in South Africa (p 191 -206)

Do Activity 25.4 pg 208

Celebrate unity and diversity- celebrate similarity

Have a look at the Sign Language Chart on page 210. As a class and together with the teacher,
practice learning the Alphabet in Sign Language.

Refer to the Official Languages Chart on page 211. As a class and together with your teacher
complete activity 25.7 as an interactive lesson.

Read through the Contributions to Social Development by Religious Organisations (p 212- 216.

Complete activity 25.9 (p 217-218) in books.

Well done and thank you for your hard work !!!

End of Term