Protecting dignity in unequal South Africa

by Shanelle Van Der Berg In a country where millions of people struggle daily to put food on the table, social protection is not a luxury or a handout.

It is the difference between dignity and destitution.

South Africa is the most unequal country in the world.

For many South Africans who live in poverty, survival depends not on charity, but on the social safety net.

At a time when economic hardship continues to deepen, social grants and other forms of social protection are not acts of generosity.

They are investments in human dignity and social stability.

Poverty is a collective societal problem.

Social protection signals that society shares the responsibility for addressing poverty and inequality and acknowledges that the well-being of the poor is connected to the well-being of the community as a whole.

In South Africa, which struggles with persistent inequality, unemployment and poverty, basic income support is a crucial lifeline for millions of people.

As South Africa commemorates 30 years of signing its Constitution, we spotlight the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which has inspired constitutions across the globe.

The UDHR recognises that social security and other economic, social and cultural rights are indispensable for human dignity and the free development of the individual.

The UDHR provides for the “right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control”.

This sentiment is mirrored by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which guarantees justiciable socio-economic rights including affording the right to social protection to “everyone”.

The right to social protection therefore reinforces the constitutional values of dignity, freedom and equality.