A number of Human Rights Organisations warned on Thursday that many South Africans continue to struggle for the protection of basic human rights.
In a statement released on Human Right Day, Human Rights Commission Spokesman Isaac Mangena said they remain deeply concerned about the current state of human rights in South Africa.
Mangena highlighted recent cases of alleged police brutality and said Parliament needed to pass legislation to prevent this kind of abuse.
He said police and courts also needed to be better equipped to combat violence against women and children.
Mangena emphasised that physical and sexual abuse against the elderly was of grave concern. He cited the rapes of several elderly woman in KwaZulu-Natal old-age homes, as well as reports that drug addicts were robbing their elderly relatives for money.
The Federation of Unions of SA's vice president Martle Keyter said women and girls needed to feel safer in South Africa and that everyone was responsible for upholding the values of the Constitution.
