Altum Sonatur: Relationships

ALTUM SONATUR Volume 12 Issue 3: Relationships

September 2021

ALTUM SONATUR

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Poem: sommersaults in my stomach

Sexual Abuse in Schools: Is South African Law Doing Enough to Protect its Children?

Ruth Levin-Vorster: Understanding Relationships in Conflict From a Neurophysiological Perspective

Discrimination & Hate Crimes Perpetrated Against the LGBTQIA+ Community

Get to Know A Lecturer: Robin Cupido (Contract Law)

Wrongful Convictions in SA: Whose Lives Matter?

Love & Law: Non-Recognition of Religious Marriages in SA

Editors' Note

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CONTENTS

GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT

Editorial

22 24 26 28

BY IMAAN SAYED

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30 32

Acknowledgments

Contributors

The Committee

Humans of Kramer

Relationship Law Gags

Kramer Krushes

Agony Attorney

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VOLUME 12 ISSUE 3: RELATIONSHIPS

Somehow we blinked and, the next thing we knew, the third term had come to a close. It’s a little surreal that we are already in the last quarter of the year, when all the months ending in ‘er’ blend into each other, and the burnout just cannot be thwarted but, hey, apparently the calendar does not lie, so reality this must be. Although the workload gives no indication of shrinking and the realities of 2021 continue to shock every now and then, one of the stable things we have are (hopefully) our relationships with those around us: whether our families, friends, peers, lecturers, significant others, or a mixture thereof are the ones helping us through, it’s a wonderful thing to receive some kind of moral support, be it virtually or in person.

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Relationships are not just crucial for us as human beings but as lawyers and law students. At the heart of every legal matter are two relationships: that between lawyer and client and that between the disputing parties themselves. With that in mind, we took to crafting the ‘relationships’ issue, where we examine how various relationships operate in the law. Here is what you can expect in this issue:

EDITORS' NOTE:

First we examine how religious marriages (with a particular emphasis on Muslim marriages) in South Africa have been excluded from the law and look at the movement dedicated to achieving recognition for such marriages. Next, we examine wrongful convictions in South Africa and the relationship between the State and some of the most vulnerable individuals in the country. After this we hone in on hate crimes perpetrated against the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa and consider whether the protections afforded by the Constitution are effective. From there, we take a look at sexual abuse in schools and weigh in on law’s failure to ensure that children are safeguarded in these institutions.

Besides for the articles which our student writers have contributed, we also include a range of other features that focus on relationships within the law.

We are very excited to continue our ‘get to know a lecturer’ segment in this edition. This time we interview contract law lecturer, Robin Cupido (best narrated PowerPoints ever). Thereafter we are privileged to include a piece by jack-of-all-trades (including accredited mediator) Ruth Levin-Vorster who writes about relationships from a neurophysiological perspective. Following this, we bring you a poem entitled ‘somersaults in my stomach’, penned by one of our students.

For a little bit of fun, we include an Agony Attorney segment in which our not-totally-qualified psychologist/legal practitioner answers real questions

by Kramer kids. Next we present Kramer Krushes in which students anonymously confess their love/lust/attraction to fellow students. We then include relationship law gags, which details sometimes peculiar and sometimes downright hilarious situations which have arisen across different areas of law pertaining to relationships. Our Humans of Kramer section then ends off the issue.

JAIME URANOVSKY & ADENIKE FAPOHUNDA

After this edition, we only have the term four issue left, so if you would like to get involved, this is your final opportunity for 2021! As always, please follow/DM us on Instagram and look out for emails for our last issue of the year. Alternatively, contact us at altumsonatur@gmail.com.

We hope that this issue gives you a little bit of time to zone out from all the coursework, read about some pressing legal issues, engage with what is going on in the big wide world, and to have a chuckle at some of the more lighthearted pieces. More than anything, we hope that this issue reminds you that while obtaining this degree is very important, it is also crucial to nurture the different relationships in your life in ordr to keep yourself sane and to try to live a balanced life (lol).

Happy reading and don’t shoot the messenger(s) Jaime Uranovsky & Adenike Fapohunda

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In 1994 the world bore witness to the dismantling of South Africa’s apartheid regime.

One of the many discriminatory laws put into place during this time established that only civil marriages, concluded under the Marriage Act, were legally recognised. This disallowed for interracial, customary, LGBTQ+ and any other marriages that deviate from the Christian, heteronormative culture that came with colonial influences. Today, marriage in South Africa can refer to a civil union, a civil marriage, a customary marriage, or a religious marriage; this does not, however, mean that all marriages have become equal under the law. Indeed, the very need for multiple avenues of marriage, as opposed to a single Marriage Act, speaks to the long way we still have to go. The focus of this piece will revolve around religious marriages and how a refusal to recognise and regulate them is to fundamentally fail the most vulnerable in our society ‒ our women and children. This failure is brought to light by the Women’s Legal Centre Trust v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others 2018 (6) SA 598 (WCC) and will be expanded upon in detail at a later stage.

Marriage has been a fundamental part of societies across the world for years and goes much further than a simple profession of love. Marriage, in the words of Sachs J, is ‘the most intense private and voluntary commitment into the most public, law-governed and state-regulated domain’. It is an economic, social and emotional proposition that creates private and public duties, responsibilities and consequences. These include the duties of care and responsibilities towards dependents as well as consequences regarding insolvency and evidence laws among others. Because Hindu and Muslim marriages are not accompanied by civil ceremonies they are not recognised by the Marriage or Civil Unions Act, thereby deeming the parties unmarried. The consequence of this is that they are not afforded the same level of legal protection as those privy to legally recognised marriages (marriages concluded as per the Christian faith for example). The main rationale for this lack of recognition is the potentially polygnous nature of Muslim marriages that was deemed against public ethics as per colonial standards and is now at odds with both the Marriage and Civil Unions Acts. Another reason for this lack of recognition is that Muslim imams (priests) and Hindu priests were not designated marriage officers. In effect, this remnant of coloniality creates a glaring form of discrimination that has disastrous ramifications in multiple areas. In death, certificates will read ‘never married’ confirming that their relationship had no legal significance and severely threatening the spouses’ rights to equal treatment and protection.

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LOVE & LAW:

In a country where gender-based violence and inequality is at a high, this lack of legal recognition creates the perfect storm for leaving women exceedingly vulnerable. An example of this vulnerability is the difficulty that women face when trying to leave a religious marriage as their lack of legal recognition also leads to a lack of regulation that other marriages gain as per the Divorce Act. In recent years, there have been efforts to change these laws; however, the effects are often negligible when looking at the bigger picture. One of the main changes made in this vein is that (registered) imams may now serve as marriage officers and are able to observe Muslim wedding rites, thus allowing them to have the same ramifications as civil marriages. Hindu marriages are still not recognised in this way and, as such, most couples will simultaneously enter into a civil marriage in order to ensure that the marital rights of both parties are protected.

This avenue remains closed to Muslim couples as it disallows for polygyny and, by default, are in community of property ‒ both of which are at odds with Islamic Law. (Islamic law, defined in the Muslim Marriage Bill of 2010 is the law as derived from the Holy Qur’an, the Sunnah (Prophetic model), the consensus of Muslim Jurists (Isma), and analogical deductions based on the primary sources (Qiyas).

NON-RECOGNITION OF RELIGIOUS MARRIAGES IN SOUTH AFRICA

‘IN A COUNTRY THAT CHAMPIONS DIVERSITY THROUGH ITS CONSTITUTION, THE FAILURE TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS MINORITIES ADEQUATELY IN MARRIAGE IS A MAJOR OMISSION’

Spurred on by these inequalities, the Women's Legal Centre took action and challenged the Western Cape Division of the High Court for infringing the rights to equality, dignity, freedom of religion, best interests of the child and access to the court. In terms of violating the right to equality, the argument posed is that the State’s failure to recognise Muslim marriages is a violation of section 9(1) of the Constitution which states that differentiation is on four listed grounds: directly on religion and marital status, and indirectly on gender and sex. The WLC contended that dignity is both a value and a right and, as such, to treat spouses married in religion as “less than”, singles out and stigmatises an already vulnerable minority group. They suggest a statute should be enacted in order to promote protection over stigmatisation. A lack of access to the justice system to regulate marriage-related issues like divorce, maintenance and custody mean that disputes remain unresolved and without appropriate remedies. This leads to increased incidences of economic hardships for women and children, particularly as courts do not have ‘automatic supervision’ over the children of Muslim marriages. This leads to the violation of the child's best interests, as special applications must be made to the court in order for maintenance, contact and care to be regulated by the State. The Marriage Act also places a minimum age on marriage which is absent in the case of non-recognised religious marriages. The State had thus failed in its duty to ensure that both the legal and administrative infrastructure was in place to ensure children's protection. While religious freedom was not infringed, the argument made was that religious freedom should not allow other rights (such as the right to equality) to be violated. Overall, the outcome here was the recognition that the President and Cabinet alike had, in fact, failed their constitutional duties and were directed to rectify this failure within 24 months. It was also decided that the Western Cape had a constitutional obligation to ensure that legislation was created to recognise Muslim marriages as valid and to regulate any consequences that arise from this recognition. The Supreme Court of Appeal echoed the need to recognise Muslim marriages in its 2020 judgment; however, this needs to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court which, earler this year, reserved judgment on the matter.

In a country that champions diversity through its Constitution, the failure to protect religious minorities adequately in marriage is a major omission. While we must ensure that legal recognition is afforded to all marriages we must also be cognisant of the checks and balances that must be put into place. Recognition without regulation will allow gendered and discriminatory practices that are also at odds with the Constitution to flourish. If the state is truly aiming to ensure the protection of the marginalised, then a nuanced and respectful regulation of the laws will be paramount. To move towards a South Africa in which all marriage rights are given equal treatment it will be of the utmost importance to ensure that all relevant parties – religious leaders, gender experts, women, and the broader society among others – are consulted and together reach a resolution.

ROOMAAN LEACH

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The strength of our criminal justice system depends on its ability to convict the guilty and protect the innocent. While wrongful convictions occur across the globe, they remain mostly unacknowledged, ignored, or denied in South Africa. Since 1989, the United States National Registry of Exonerations (NRE) has recorded nearly 2500 known wrongful convictions.

However, neither South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority nor the Department of Justice and Correctional Services maintain similar records. It is therefore impossible to determine exactly how many miscarriages of justice occur in our country. However, the State’s failure to realise section 34 of the Constitution effectively – which in effect provides for the right to access to justice – combined with a worrying socio-economic climate may shed light on the severity of the situation.

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South Africa’s history is characterised by exclusion. In response to the apartheid regime’s deliberate impairment of access to justice for majority of citizens, section 34 of the Constitution provides that: ‘Everyone has the right to have any dispute that can be resolved by the application of law decided in a fair public hearing before a court, or where appropriate, in another independent and impartial tribunal or forum’. Moreover, access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law which, according to section 1(c) of the Constitution, is a core value of the Republic of South Africa. Despite these provisions, there is a noticeable disjuncture between theory and practice; similarly, there is a clear difference between access to justice and effective access to justice.

In our country, Legal Aid is the primary, state-funded source of legal services for persons who cannot afford private legal assistance. The organisation’s mission is ‘to be the leader in the provision of accessible, sustainable, ethical, quality and independent legal services to the poor and vulnerable’. The State is therefore theoretically ensuring access to justice for society’s most vulnerable. However, in practice, we know that approximately 55 per cent of the population live under the poverty line, that unemployment is at an all-time high of 34.4 per cent, and that income inequality in South Africa has remained high for over two decades. We also know that Legal Aid had its budget slashed by R503 million, over three years, in 2018. Therefore, it begs the question – how accessible and of what quality is the State’s provision of access to justice?

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The Innocence Project lists “inadequate defence” as one of the five causes of wrongful convictions. Statistically, low-income individuals are disproportionately present in both the criminal justice system and are disproportionately affected by wrongful convictions.

According to Statistics South Africa, income amounts in South Africa remain heavily racialised, with white individuals earning three times more than black persons, despite more than two decades since the demise of apartheid. Furthermore, majority of falsely accused individuals are men. The intersection reflects the painful reality that is: black men who are financially vulnerable are most likely to be victims of wrongful convictions.

WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN SA:

While we may be led to believe that false convictions are not a reality in South Africa, the anecdotal accounts of “exonerated” individuals say otherwise. Samuel “Sampie” Khanye and Victor Moyo are but two manifestations of the State’s failure to ensure section 34. After being convicted on four counts – including murder and robbery – both men were vindicated by the Constitutional Court after spending fourteen years behind bars. However, what preceded this rare victory is telling. We have discussed that in theory, the State provides for access to justice through the provision of Legal Aid. However, in the case of Khanye and Moyo, Legal Aid was unwilling to assist. The Court thereafter approached the Johannesburg Bar Council to provide an advocate on a pro bono basis; after failing to consult with the men, failing to meet deadlines, and failing to make the correct submissions, her mandate was terminated. At long last, an advocate committed to representing the men effectively came forward. What transpired was that these men suffered at the hands of recant, uncorroborated hearsay evidence and egregious police assault in an effort to make them confess. Eventually, the State conceded that Khanye and Moyo should never have been convicted; the Court ordered their immediate release. However, these men never received any compensation from the State for its failure. It is at this point that we should ask:whose lives really matter? Whose dignity is protected, respected and fulfilled?

WHOSE LIVES MATTER?

In addition to inadequate defence, eyewitness testimony constitutes a major contributing factor behind wrongful convictions. While historically among the most convincing forms of evidence in criminal trials, research has revealed that our memory is in fact fallible and vulnerable to distortion and coercion. This is the case for Fusi Mofokeng who was found guilty of murder by association in 1993. His conviction was based on the testimony of one witness, who later confessed to being threatened by apartheid police and coerced into testifying. In 1998, Mofokeng appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (‘TRC’) amnesty hearing. He maintained his innocence as he refused to admit to a crime he had not committed. For amnesty, an applicant was required to give full disclosure of all the relevant facts;therefore, Mofokeng remained incarcerated. This is but one example of a number of cracks within the TRC’s process. After nineteen years in prison, with the help of Wits Justice Project and several pro bono lawyers, Mofokeng was released on parole in line with the Van Vuuren judgment.

‘HOWEVER, JUDICIAL ERROR, AN OVERBURDENED AND DYSFUNCTIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND AN ACCUSED WHO IS MARGINALISED IS THE PERFECT STORM FOR A WRONGFUL CONVICTION’

Perhaps the most telling part of this miscarriage of justice is that Mofokeng was convicted under the common purpose doctrine, an apartheid-era law instituted to quell riots and arrest large groups of individuals without having to prove individual guilt. This doctrine was also used by prosecutors in an attempt to charge miners for the deaths of their fellow protestors in Marikana. Yet, despite the controversy of the doctrine, appeals failed and a proposal for presidential pardon was denied. The State posits that due to the onus to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, there is hardly a situation where ‘someone who has been convicted and sentenced did not commit the crime’. Furthermore, without a corrective mechanism in the legal sphere, there is very little opportunity to seek an exoneration following sentencing. To this day, the State refuses to admit to having wrongfully detained Mofokeng for nearly two decades. This speaks to the severe power imbalance between the State and accused individuals, particularly those who are vulnerable.

As it stands, the official number of exonerations in South Africa is zero. However, judicial error, an overburdened and dysfunctional criminal justice system, and an accused who is marginalised is the perfect storm for a wrongful conviction. The truth is that the largely unmet demand for legal representation for indigent people cannot be met by Legal Aid alone. It is therefore us as law students who need to reflect upon what type of lawyers we want to be. In theory, a certification of completion of twenty four hours of pro bono work per year by practising attorneys has to be submitted. However, in practice, a lack of punitive sanctions means that this responsibility is not always met. It is easy to conclude who is most painfully burdened by this lack of access to effective legal representation. A cliché is a cliché for a reason and it is to this end that I hope we will be the change that we wish to see.

Indeed, William Blackstone reminds us that ‘better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer’.

JESSICA HENN

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What made you decide to study law and go into this field?

I made the decision to study law very early on, when I was about 13 years old. I can’t remember exactly what triggered this decision, but from that point on all of the decisions I made were geared towards getting my LLB. I think much of it stems from

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my love of words and how they fit together, and it really interested me to think about how the right combination of words could serve to govern how people live their lives.

Using language to construct how we see the world and how we understand our places in it was a big driving force for me and motivated me to combine language study with the study of the law. Strangely, I never planned to be an academic, but found that it was a natural fit as my legal studies progressed.

Do you have a favourite sphere of law? Why? My favourite sphere of law is undoubtedly private law due to its relational aspect. I love to observe society and people, and private law is the perfect vantage point from which to do so. It encompasses a broad scope of human interaction, from personal relationships such as marriage to contractual relationships and commerce, showing us the different norms that we as a society have chosen to value.

What makes you passionate about the law?

I love the potential that law has to shape society, and the transformative power of

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the law is something that I have started to consider in my writing over the past year or so. What makes me passionate about the field of law is that it is dynamic and can be grouped with so many other disciplines (politics, economics, science, technology…) to form a very exciting field of study.

What advice can you give to current law students or what advice would you give to yourself when you were doing your LLB? My advice to current law students has to be viewed in our current global context,

GET TO KNOW A LECTURER:

and it is simply this: Do not give up on yourself in the online learning process. I know that it has been a very difficult adjustment to make and requires an overhaul of your approach to studying, but do not give up. The LLB is definitely worth it.

What are some of your hobbies or hidden talents?

I am (was?) a very useful addition to any pub quiz team; pop culture is my absolute obsession. I also love 19th century literature (poetry, novels, short stories) and am an avid reader.

Do you have a favourite moment of teaching that stands out?

There is one every year, and it is always when a student has that sudden breakthrough ‒ an “aha” moment when everything falls into place and they can see the results of their hard work. As a teacher, there is no better feeling than being witness to that moment.

ROBIN CUPIDO (CONTRACT LAW)

How do you think your knowledge of the law changes how you relate to the world and to those in your life ‒do lawyers 'relationship' differently with their friends, families, and partners?

I can’t speak for lawyers across the board, but I think that my legal training has pushed me to consider relationships differently than other people I know do. I tend to consider the different ways that any situation can be perceived, which is definitely useful when there are conflicts in relationships with friends, families and a partner.

I think that our training pushes us to look a bit deeper; what are the circumstances causing each person’s actions and how can we accommodate that in our response? I also think that it can work a bit negatively in relationships, as we are trained to be problem solvers and can then become very “solutions-driven”. This is not always a good thing when it comes to relating to others, as sometimes people just want to be heard and don’t necessarily want advice, which is often my default response.

How important is it to build up solid relationships with our future clients ‒ how personal do we need to get?

It is important to build up solid relationships at every stage of your law career, beginning with building relationships in your LLB cohort and within the faculty itself. These early relationships will be beneficial in various ways, at first as a necessary support system while you complete your studies and then as your first professional contacts when you begin your law career. As you move into practice, into consulting, into research, you will need to build and maintain relationships in order to be successful.

Regarding client relationships specifically, it is best to be approachable but professional. You will need to make them feel secure in your ability to assist them in their matter, but I would caution against crossing a professional boundary. Of course, the nature of the matter will determine the level of personal knowledge that you have about the client; for example, a family dispute is by nature more personal than a commercial one. However, the type of relationship will always differ from those that you have in your personal life.

INTERVIEW

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South Africa is hailed as a safe-haven for LGBTQIA+ identifying persons in Africa. It boasts a progressive constitution which ensures the rights of this community, but the lived experience tells a different narrative. A 2019 poll by the Pew Research Centre places the acceptance of the South African LGBTQ+ community at 54 per cent, 21 points up from South Africa’s 2002 score of 33. Yet, in the period between March and April 2021, news broke that at least four gay men had been murdered. The brutal killing of Lonwabo Jack in Nyanga was one of the earliest reported, followed by the murders of Andile ‘Lulu’ Ntuthela and Phelokazi Ndlwana. These deaths led to an outcry on social media and eventually a march to parliament calling for greater response to these hate crimes. These gruesome events lay bare the homophobic and transphobic reality the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa faces. The Constitution envisages protections for the LGBTQIA+ community, but how meaningful has this been in guaranteeing their rights?

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Section 9(3) of the Constitution stipulates that the state may not discriminate against anyone on the grounds of their sexuality, and section 9(4) extends the same rule for the relationships between subjects of the state. There are several pieces of legislation in place effecting these constitutional clauses. One such is the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (‘PEPUDA’), which facilitates the implementation of section 9 of the Constitution. However, much of the legislation serves the purpose of rectifying the inequities experienced by heterosexual and queer persons, rather than establishing protections for one of the most vulnerable groups in present society.

For instance, we can consider the Civil Union Act of 2006, which legalised same-sex marriage.

The Act itself is not without critique because as opposed to including queer persons in the Marriage Act, it merely created an alternative option for them. It takes on a “separate-butequal”-esque identity if the institution of marriage is detached from the legal benefits it holds.

This seemingly minor detail illustrates how hesitant legislators were when dealing with sexuality in 2006. This attitude continues to prevail through to 2021, as other legislation implementing this constitutional clause has struggled to make headway. One such example is the Hate Crimes Bill, which has been on the cards for well over the past half decade.

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The Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill intends to give effect to section 9(3) and (4) of the Constitution, providing for the categorisation of hate crimes according to the categories listed in section 9(3) and providing similarly for hate speech. The Bill will criminalise both hate crimes and hate speech, which will allow both government bodies and the judicial system to act on hate crimes more effectively. Section 6 of the Bill encompasses the punitive provisions; perpetrators of hate speech may face both a fine and imprisonment of up to five years, while perpetrators of hate speech may be subject to the punitive provisions of the Criminal Law Act. Since the sudden spike in homophobic murders during April, there have been calls to expedite the process to bring much needed protections for LGBTQ+ persons. The Bill, however, faces many other challenges, including the limitations it may place on other rights.

DISCRIMINATION & HATE CRIMES PERPETRATED AGAINST THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY:

Most laws protecting or enhancing the rights enshrined in the Constitution require a trade off of another right. The Hate Crime Bill has the potential consequence of limiting the section 15 right to freedom of religion, belief and opinion and the section 16 right to freedom of expression. This is an important juncture because some religions interact with the topic of sexuality frequently, and many of those institutions would have to change their core beliefs on the matter. The crux then becomes the balancing act that has to be performed between the lifethreatening circumstances that make up the queer reality and institutions which do not prevent religions’ functioning but challenge their values.

IS THE CONSTITUTION EFFECTIVE IN ITS ESTABLISHED PROTECTIVE PROVISIONS?

Proponents of the Bill argue that the sanctions created by the Bill will discourage hate crimes and ratify the inclusion of queer people into society. Still, this may arguably not be the case, given the (in)ability of other legislation to curb beliefs. The commission of any offences is possibly reduced when the consequences are dire, but the root issue is not addressed. Like with gender-based violence (GBV), where the crimes are rooted in the misogyny which is deeply ingrained into our society, homophobia and transphobia are similarly attached to the belief that LGBTQIA+ persons are simply “less than”. It is important to introduce GBV here because of the many common characteristics between the two categories of violence, especially the link between GBV and corrective rape.

‘LAWS ARE ENFORCED BY PEOPLE, AND THOSE PEOPLE HOLDING THAT AUTHORITY OFTEN SHARE THE SENTIMENTS AGAINST WHICH THE CONSTITUTION IS MEANT TO GUARD’

Corrective rape is an act of rape where the perpetrator sexually assaults the victim, usually a woman identifying as lesbian, with the object of converting them to heterosexuality because they have yet to experience sex with a man. The rape crisis in South Africa is already underreported, with no isolation from those motivated by anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments, but even in reported cases, justice is ill-served. Zukiswa Gaca’s case, in which the police failed to obtain DNA-evidence before releasing the suspect illustrates the lack of attention hate crimes receive.

Beyond the potential gaps the Hate Crimes Bill could leave, the legislation in the name of implementing constitutional provisions is not always meaningful due to prevailing attitudes.

Laws are enforced by people, and those people holding that authority often share the sentiments against which the Constitution is meant to guard. Queer people detail their fears in reporting hate crimes, because the police officers or and other figures of authority may hold that same prejudice. Similarly, queer couples faced difficulty even in enjoying the Civil Union Act, because officials in the Department of Home Affairs could exempt themselves from marrying a same-sex couple via section 6 of the Act. The section was repealed last year, perhaps marking the beginning of a shift towards more robust protections for LGBTQIA+ couples.

The courts have also played an instrumental role in ensuring protections for the LGBTQIA+ community. The case of Jon Qwelane, who equated LGBTQIA+ persons to animals in a 2008 article, serves as an example. The case was pursued by the South African Human Rights Commission and first argued in the Equality Court. These are both institutions established by legislation, and illustrated that the mechanisms for protection are functional. The Constitutional Court found that his article did constitute hate speech but the judgment exposed the weakness in how briefly PEPUDA handles hate speech and hate crimes.

South Africa is a deeply patriarchal country, and a culture of homophobia thrives in this setting. The discrimination faced by LGBTQIA+ persons goes far further than can be remedied by the law. Still the law and the arms through which it operates fail to reach their own potential in the protections they can bring to this vulnerable community. A fully realised statute is arguably one of the most feasible ways to decrease hate crimes visibly and to bring justice for those whose lives have been cut short by this failure.

CONFI MOERANE

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Relationships will form a key part of your professional life, and where there are relationships there will be conflict. Understanding the neurophysiological cascade of what is happening in the brain-body system when conflict is taking place, I hope will offer you some insight into the value of taking time to listen to your clients ‒ to their unique needs underneath the legal matter at hand, together with understanding the powerful mechanism embedded within empathy, in its capacity to unknot conflict.

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To understand what is happening when people are in conflict, one needs to understand something about the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is made of the energising and activating sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the calming and soothing parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). These two branches of the ANS are interplaying in every moment of the day to keep your body in balance. This is a process called homeostasis where all the different systems of the body (blood flow, tissues, fluid, muscles, organs) respond to external cues in your environment (of which relationships form a key part) to send messages to the nervous system to guide how you must react and behave in order that you can function efficiently and optimally and thrive in each moment.

The autonomic nervous system is governed by multiple brain regions spread out across the brain. These include the brainstem, the subcortical areas or limbic system and the neocortex.

The neocortex is the thinking, reasoning, planning part of the brain, the limbic system governs our emotions and memory formation, and the brainstem is the start point of the integration of all of these signals emerging from the body, in addition to its primary function of governing our involuntary and vital life processes, such as our heartbeat and breathing. Simply put, the brain is constantly monitoring the individual’s external environment for cues of safety or threat. If a cue is perceived as a threat the nervous system will move into fight, flight or freeze and withdraw from social engagement. When one’s reactivity has become triggered or activated and one moves into a threat state, the higher-order brain structures (in the neocortex) go offline and the limbic system takes over, so that one can no longer reason or think rationally. It can take 30 minutes at a minimum before one’s cortex comes back online and one is able to step out of emotion and respond with reason. We call this the prefrontal cortex (PFC) “amygdala loop:; the amygdala being a potent section in the brain governing threat and fear and part of conditioning the fear response, and the prefrontal cortex area being the cluster of areas where one not only thinks and reasons but becomes conscious of emotion and thinking patterns. This loop can be strengthened through various processes in order to reinforce the PFC regions so that when in conflict the threat response refrains from overriding the prefrontal areas of the brain and reason can ensue.

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RUTH LEVINVORSTER:

The problem is that once conflict has been initiated, the story that each party has told themselves keeps retriggering their nervous system and the person keeps moving into a space of threat, and it is virtually impossible to dialogue in this state.

What gets people out of this state of threat is for them to feel that they have been heard, seen and acknowledged. This sounds a lot simpler than it is in practice. For a person to really feel that they’ve been seen, heard and acknowledged, the person opposite them needs to listen with full presence, no judgement, curiosity and empathy. I am going to unpack these mechanisms of change because while they are simple words, they are not simple constructs to emulate.

UNDERSTANDING RELATIONSHIPS IN CONFLICT FROM A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Listening: to listen with ones’ whole body and whole mind. That is, to attune to another’s sensations in their body, the emotions they’re feeling and the thinking patterns that might be underneath their turmoil. To be curious enough to ask the right questions to determine what it is that is activating this person’s distress. What is it that they are really wanting and what are they telling themselves about the other person? To be truly curious involves forgoing judgement, which is immensely challenging as it is built into our modus operandi. To judge is a universal flaw, part of our reptilian brain, where threat pertained to life and death. While relational threats in the most part do not imply the threat of death, when our nervous system is triggered, it is responding with as much severity as if the threat is life threatening.

Empathy: the popular idiom defines empathy as ‘stepping into another person’s shoes’.

However, in reality, one can never actually do this. For the person’s perspective, nervous system encoding, context and reality is unique to them and has impacted their neurobiology in ways neither they nor you might be aware of.

‘WHEN HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURES GOVERN THE CONFLICT, WHICH SO OFTEN HAPPENS – EMPLOYER TO EMPLOYER, PARENT TO CHILD, RICH TO POOR – , IT CAN PROVE DIFFICULT FOR PARTIES TO COME OUT UNDERNEATH THOSE STRUCTURES TO MEET EACH OTHER AS EQUAL HUMAN BEINGS’

A better definition emerges from the work of Theresa Wiseman, who formulated a definition of empathy that encompasses the intricate detail mapped within this powerful process. She elucidates empathy as a four-part process: 1. Understanding the lens of perspective – yours might be different from mine but it is equally true and valid.

2. Judgement – is a human flaw and therefore one must be mindful of one’s judgements and allow them simply to pass by so that they don’t impede one’s ability to listen to the other.

3. Having the courage to step into resonance with another’s feelings. This requires connecting with your own vulnerability to connect with that within another.

4. The ability to communicate to the other person that they are seen, heard, and acknowledged.

Each step within this definition requires development in order to acquire the skills and courage to listen within in order to listen between and truly be able to hear and witness another. This is work and takes time and deepens with practice. Moreover, empathy requires equality. When hierarchical structures govern the conflict, which so often happens – employer to employer, parent to child, rich to poor – , it can prove difficult for parties to come out underneath those structures to meet each other as equal human beings, and you in your capacity as a neutral party, can help them to do this.

How does one build towards developing these qualities that will nurture one’s ability to communicate with others and form trust within one’s relationships? A third mechanism, perhaps the most powerful of the three as it is the forerunner to listening, empathy, and emotion regulation (the ability to bring your emotions into balance) is self-awareness. Selfawareness activates neural structures that allow you to feel the signals inside your body, to attune to your emotions and to understand your thinking patterns. The neural structures that activate with self-awareness overlap with those activated with empathy and thus both processes grow simultaneously. Self-awareness will enable you to understand the complexity of conflict, both within yourself and within others.

While the law will be the language of your profession, relationships will be the heartbeat.

Relationships are often the invisible motivator controlling conflict outcomes. They require a different kind of intelligence, which if sought out and paid attention to, will elevate your legal service and outcomes unprecedentedly.

RUTH LEVIN-VORSTER

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Ruth Levin-Vorster is a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience in the Department of Psychiatry & Mental Health at UCT. Her PhD measures a Theatre-Based Relational Health intervention designed to improve self-awareness in stressful relationships and to bring emotions into balance with compassion. After being a theatre director (MA in Theatre and Performance, Faculty of Humanities, UCT) and an educator in London and South Africa for 15 years, she began to take adapted actor training and character development processes into the public and corporate realm to cultivate self-awareness, empathy and connection within individuals and teams. She qualified as an Accredited Mediator (UCT@Law) in 2016 and served as an ad-hoc coach on their training team. In addition to her PhD, Ruth is a facilitator for relational health.

See www.ruthlevinvorster.com for more details.

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Every few months there are news articles and media attention regarding children being sexually abused by teachers at their schools. The story gets coverage, the Department of Basic Education speaks up, a case is opened, and the public moves on. A couple of weeks later a new story comes to light. It is the same never-ending cycle that makes one question whether there really is anything being done to ensure that children are protected when they are at school.

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South Africa has a history of racial segregation. It has been 27 years since apartheid has ended but South Africa is still regarded as one of the most unequal countries in the world with an unemployment rate of 42.6 per cent as reported by Stats SA. It is important to understand the context of South Africa because as much as children from different walks of life have been victims of sexual abuse in various schools, the numbers in rural and disadvantaged communities when it comes to teenage pregnancies and assault at schools are significantly higher than those of children in affluent communities.

Section 28(1)(d) of the Constitution sets out that every child has the right to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation. The Employment of Educators Act of 1998 which was enacted in November 2000 sets out that a teacher that is found guilty of being in a sexual relationship with a school student, at the school that they are employed at, with or without the consent of the student, will be dismissed. The Department of Basic Education gazetted new conditions of employment under the Employment of Educators Act this year. Under the new employment conditions, educators face an indefinite ban from being re-employed if they were dismissed for misconduct such as having sexual relations with a pupil, sexually harassing learners, and seriously or sexually assaulting a pupil or other educator.

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The policy is there but we still see an increase in the number of teachers reported for misconduct, especially for having sexual relations with pupils and for sexually assaulting students as reported by the Department of Basic Education. This makes one question, what exactly is the problem? Why is the law failing to protect children as it is supposed to do?

Disappointing outcomes are reflected in various recent examples.

SEXUAL ABUSE IN SCHOOLS:

Earlier this year, parents protested for a week at Langaville Primary School near Brakpan. A grade 5 pupil had reported to her grandmother that a teacher made her and another female learner ‘do inappropriate things’. The grandmother reported the matter to the school principal and no action was taken by the school. The grandmother informed the community about the school’s inaction and the community was outraged. Other learners came out saying that the teacher had also sexually assaulted them. The teacher was temporarily removed while the matter is under investigation.

In Siyabonga Secondary School in Braamfischerville, two teachers were accused of sexually violating a pupil at the school for two years. The learner told her father of the ordeal when requesting a transfer from the school. Her father took her to the police station where she made a statement. However, the matter was not investigated by the police. A member of the School Governing Body (‘SGB’) stated that the matter should have first been discussed with the SGB itself before police were involved. However, even the SGB has an interest in such matters, and its members tend to want to protect the school and further deny the children justice. One teacher was found guilty and dismissed and another was suspended pending the investigation.

IS SOUTH AFRICAN LAW DOING ENOUGH TO PROTECT ITS CHILDREN?

Unfortunately, these incidents are not isolated. The South African Human Rights Commission conducted a hearing on bullying, corporal punishment and sexual relations between students and educators in Limpopo. The commission heard that some primary school learners are sexually assaulted by teachers. The Limpopo office of the Commission of Gender Equality said in the hearing that sexual harassment in schools has long existed but there has not yet been an adequate solution. Nkhensani Hlekani of the Limpopo office of the Commission of Gender Equality said, ‘We have all the laws. Why does it still exist?” She went on to state that although there are laws that protect children against sexual abuse and harassment in schools, the victims are, more often than not, unaware of the legal policies and procedures in place to protect them, while the perpetrators have this knowledge and take advantage of learners’ legal ignorance. Hlekani also highlighted that an obstacle in reporting sexual assault cases is that teachers’ unions often want to protect their members.

‘THE PATTERN THAT ONE CAN SEE AS ONE READS CASES UPON CASES OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF STUDENTS

BY EDUCATORS IS THAT THERE IS A CULTURE OF ENABLING WITHIN THE EDUCATION SECTOR’

Students are vulnerable, and in the teacher-learner relationship the teacher has power as the wellbeing of students is in the teacher’s hands during school hours. In such a power dynamic, there is room for abuse of power as the students are young, impressionable and vulnerable. The pattern that one can see as one reads cases upon cases of sexual abuse of students by educators is that there is a culture of enabling within the education sector. Parents report the matters to schools, and the school, which is meant to ensure that every child is safe when he or she is at school, does nothing about the allegations.

There are policies to ensure the safety of children at school, yet sexual assault of students is still very high. Access to justice is the main problem when it comes to ensuring the safety of students. Access to justice begins through the process of opening a case. With the high rates of gender based violence (‘GBV’) in the country, children are not safe.While dizzying rates of GBV cases occur and while South Africa has been declared a ‘rape capital’ by statisticians, the Department of Police has stated that these cases do not represent the true nature of such crimes, owing to many unreported cases. We cannot deny that the same thing will apply to cases of sexual abuse of students. Indeed, police often turn victims away or fail to investigate cases; many times schools do not do anything about sexual abuse allegations brought against teachers. Instead teachers’ trade unions and SGBs try to resolve things internally or sweep things under the carpet. This endangers the wellbeing of children. Not only does it deny the current victims justice, but it also endangers other children who are yet to come under the “care” of that educator.

Does the law protect children? One could say it does because there has been legislation and regulations enacted for this purpose. However, as has been shown here, laws alone are not enough to protect children. They have been failing to do so for years. Children need to be educated about their rights and about issues like sexual abuse. More work needs to be done to ensure the safety of children. The Department of Basic Education needs to combat the enabling of such behavior by schools and to ensure that child-victims have access to justice.

NDZALO MASHABA

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somersaults in my stomach I’m a gymnast now

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my heart missing love lessons I’ma go ‘head and take a bow can’t tear my defences I’m an architect designing rock solid fences abandon all care, can we please end this?

tightening the strings on my aorta, now I’m a heart

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mechanic I’ma therapist talk me down from a panic loneliest place to be...manic

POEM:

don’t needa pull me up I ain’t down I’m in the scenes of somewhere in the middle

said middle of a riddle maybe just a backhand to slap me outta my fiddle

SOMERSAULTS IN MY STOMACH

how am I not to crucify and belittle?

When I’m here again not making like Elsa and letting It go but hindering the slipping away of hanging on pain think I’ma take it slow take lesson from this wonder that was Hanslo I think I’ll ride out the waves You know? make like a pro surfer And I think I’ll have compassion on my days still at rising action, but on this plot that is my life, I think I’ll prove to be a fair author

maybe while I’m at it become a lawyer RA'EESAH VAN DE RHEDE

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EDITORIAL

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‘Why does law school feel like a never ending marathon? Why do I always ask myself if I belong here? Will a day come where I no longer question my ability?’

- Startled Student

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ANSWER: Dear Startled Student, It sounds like you’re experiencing some standard Kramer imposter syndrome combined with a bit of near-the-end-of-the-year burnout. Neither is pleasant and together they can really knock your productivity and self confidence.

In all honesty, the length of time spent at law school does not necessarily have an impact on the amount of self-doubt that you feel. That is, the bouts of ‘Do I belong here?’ can creep up on you from prelim A all the way to final year. Maybe those feelings never leave.

The important thing to realise is that most other students are feeling the exact same way. Kramer can be an isolating journey, even without a global pandemic. While it might not seem like it, most (if not all) law students feel incapable, inadequate and like they don’t know what they’re doing ‒ at least some of the time.

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It can be helpful to know that you aren’t alone and that your thoughts are not authority for the idea that you do not belong here. The best thing to do when you’re experiencing a particularly bad bout of imposter syndrome is to reach out to another law student ‒ even if just to an acquaintance via WhatsApp. We’re all on the same journey and this is a tough time to be studying toward our LLBs. You’d be surprised at how compassionate, kind, and understanding your class members will be, even if you don’t know them super well. It helps to talk it out and to realise that even the people who always seem to have it together do not.

AGONY ATTORNEY:

Regarding the ‘never ending marathon’, it’s certainly been a tough year and the exhaustion is real. Good news is, we’re super close to the end. To avoid burnout, try to make some time for yourself during the day. A short walk or a cup of tea can be effective rituals to offer some respite from school stresses. Hang in there ‒ vac approaches in about two months; you can do it!

‘I have a dilemma. I can't seem to get a date. It's so difficult to meet new people with online law school. I've tried dating apps but people don't seem to want genuine connections on those. I'm in second year and it just seems so much easier for other people.’

- Lonely Law Learner

WE ASKED UCT LAW STUDENTS TO SHARE THEIR PROBLEMS WITH OUR RESIDENT AGONY ATTORNEY WHO, DISCLAIMER, IS NEITHER A QUALIFIED PSYCHOLOGIST NOR AN ADMITTED ATTORNEY BUT WHO, LIKE MOST PEOPLE, MAJORED IN PSYCHOLOGY IN UNDERGRAD, FOLLOWS VARIOUS THERAPY ACCOUNTS ON INSTAGRAM, AND WHO IS NEARING THE END OF LAW SCHOOL, WHICH IS BASICALLY THE SAME THING, RIGHT? THE TWO SUBMISSIONS BELOW ARE BONA FIDE AND HAVE NOT BEEN ALTERED AT ALL. THE ONLY THING WE DID WAS ADD SUITABLE PSEUDONYMS.

ANSWER: Dear Lonely Law Learner, Let’s be real: dating in the 2020s sucks. Cape Town is a tiny, incestuous village and rewatching ‘90s rom coms is probably the closest to love that any of us will ever get.

In all seriousness, dating is extra difficult right now because the ability to meet people organically hasn’t been an option. Everyone’s worlds and circles have shrunk and it’s easy to think that you’ll never be able to form a genuine connection again ‒ but you will. I’m not sure which apps you’re currently using but the cool kids have told me that Hinge is the best one to find someone who is looking for deeper relationships as opposed to more casual kinds of dating, so maybe give that one a try? (#NotAnAd). Even so, online dating isn’t for everyone and that’s okay.

Remember that the world won’t be like this forever. There will come a time where you’ll have opportunities to meet new people serendipitously, whether it’s through new hobbies (like art classes or gardening workshops), attending cultural types of events (remember First Thursdays?), or just through being out and about. Hopefully now that vaccines are more freely available, we can begin the slow journey toward pre-COVID socialising (But not yet! Stay safe; get vaccinated; wear your mask; social distance etc).

I like to remember that the world is concerningly overpopulated and that if there are nearly eight billion people out there (there are; I just checked), it’s pretty unlikely that you’re not going to meet someone with whom you really connect. The problem isn’t you: it’s the global situation (and the fact that people are generally awful).

If you’re not keen to wait until the apocalypse is over, you might want to ask your friends if they have anyone to whom they can introduce you. Specifically ask friends who already have partners so you have access to said partner’s friends. In my experience this has never actually worked but it’s worth a shot.

In summary, the world is huge and you’re not going to be alone forever, I promise.

Although, while you are single, now is a great time to get to know and date yourself.

That whole spiel is annoying to hear but it’s also true and important. Good luck!

AGONY ATTORNEY

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‘Lion of Judah can devour me on any given day, thank you’.

‘Dylan Petersen is such a little cutie. If he didn't have an over-inflated ego, things could work out (jokes, you know I love you)’.

‘Daniel Hukamdad from first year law. You have

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the nicest voice that I haven’t stopped thinking about. You love cats and you used the term “proverbial red wedding” to describe the faculty

KRAMER KRUSHES:

assembly. Can we please be friends? Hoping that we get to meet sometime next year :’)’.

‘I have the biggest crush on Maziko Kagoli. Her

mind is incredible! And she has such a warm heart. I hope there is a space in it for me’.

LEARNING ONLINE; MICROSOFT TEAMS; CRUSHES ON VOICES; ‘CAUSE NO FACES ON SCREENS. WE ASKED KRAMER KIDS TO SUBMIT THEIR ANONYMOUS CRUSHES. WE DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THEM MEAN BUT HERE THEY ARE:

‘To Talia, from Naomi <3 ’.

‘Josh Lipman is the cutest class rep that ever was’.

‘Tom Kirk, you are the prettiest man in intermediate year’.

‘I have a crush on Zoe Austin’s voice. I can’t believe I only heard it this year’.

‘Richard Calland has the best accent of all time.

And the best sense of humour. And the suits. THE SUITS ‒ Can you tell that 2019 con law lectures were my favourite part of law school?’

KRAMER KRUSHES

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Love and Romance

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‘I had a client file for divorce because every morning his wife would ask him how he takes his coffee...for seven years’.

‘One of mine that sticks out is that the husband and wife both played some sort of on-line role-playing game, sort of like the Sims I think but a little more elaborate and adult’(Second Life). The wife got heavily involved with the game, like ten hours a day, and wouldn't reduce her time playing no matter what he said. What tipped things over the edge however was that he set up a fake profile/ avatar and went online to stalk her in the game and found her avatar in a relationship with another character. Nothing ever

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happened in real life (neither of them were exactly oil paintings to look at) but that was enough for the guy to initiate a fairly acrimonious divorce’.

RELATIONSHIP LAW GAGS:

‘A client filed for divorce when her husband threw a breadcrumb at her from across the kitchen. The divorce took four years to settle’.

Labour Law ‘A client insisted on suing an employee who failed to show up to work which caused a contract to be cancelled. The employee didn’t show up to work because he died’.

Family Law ‘A father sued his children for using the inheritance from their

ADENIKE FAPOHUNDA SCOURED THE INTERNET FOR THE MOST INTERESTING STORIES AND CLIPS DEALING WITH THE LAW OF RELATIONSHIPS, JUST FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT. ENJOY.

grandparents that was meant for her college but, until she's 18, it's her father's responsibility. She's a child-prodigy and graduated at 16; didn't want to wait for two years; she and her older brother had a way to access the money and when the father found out he was angry. Instead of solving it inside the family, he decided to sue them for double the amount that she took for college, and won’.

Delict ‘We were defending a claim which had run into tens of thousands of pounds against our client (a holiday home), by a woman who had tripped over a speed bump while walking back to her caravan, and damaged her knee. The fall was genuine. The question was whose fault this was. She claimed it was the holiday home's fault because she hadn't seen the speed bump due to low lighting, poor marking etc. The claim had (outrageously) gone on for months, and made it to court.. Going through the various questions to her, when our barrister asked how she knew the speed bump was poorly marked (or something similar). Her response, “Well, I remember thinking how it wasn't well marked when I was walking up to it.”’

ADENIKE FAPOHUNDA

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We asked UCT Law Students:

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1. How do you balance your relationship with law school with the other relationships in your life (friends, family, significant other etc)?

2. What are the secret ingredients to healthy relationships (any type of relationship - not necessarily romantic)?

3. Do you believe the law does enough to protect all relationships in South Africa?

Name: Jody van Bridges Stream: 4 Year LLB 1. At first I sucked at striking this balance. I make sure that I finish my law school work in good time (I try to have it finished

by Thursday every week) so that I will have the rest of the week off to do all my other things. This time around I am much better at avoiding unnecessary readings, unnecessary note taking and unnecessary research (and unnecessary tasks, like some tutorials lol); so I am thus able to finish all my important academic work in good time.

2. Sounds cliché, but communication is at the top of my list. Say what you feel and try not to hold back unless you absolutely have to. I would put 'listening' right next to communication.

Be understanding, considerate and compassionate. Do not be judgmental. Come into the relationship with an open mind and an open heart 3. Yes. I think South African law has made great strides in its development when it comes to the various relationships in South Africa. The recent Bwanya v The Master case made it possible for partners in a permanent opposite-sex life partnership in which the partners had undertaken reciprocal duties of support to inherit intestate from one another.

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HUMANS OF KRAMER:

Name: Sikhumbuzo Muchenje Year: Intermediate 1. Well I usually try to make space and time for everything.

Though the method is not perfect it has been working well for me lol.

2. Communication is the back bone for any healthy relationship.

It obviously has to be supported by frequent self reflection and self awareness as these will assist with keeping in check with ones feelings and setting boundaries.

3. Great strides have been made over the years ,however we can obviously do much more to ensure we protect relationships of all shapes and sizes .

Name: Mihle Lutho Mleni Stream: 2-year postgraduate 1. I dedicate one day in the week where I leave the study space and visit friends or go to a Live show and meet people.

2. Kindness, to yourself and the person you are engaged with.

3. No, at the top of my head, I can identify that the continued homophobic attacks on queer people even where there is law protecting queer romantic relationships is a serious concern.

HUMANS OF KRAMER

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JODY VAN BRIDGES 4 year LLB

SIKHUMBUZO MUCHENJE intermediate year

MIHLE LUTHO MLENI 2-year post-graduate

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JAIME URANOVSKY Editor-In-Chief

ADENIKE FAPOHUNDA Deputy Editor-In-Chief

ATTIYA OMARJEE Senior Editor

AGNES SAWARI Senior Editor

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THE COMMITTEE: ALTUM SONATUR

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RAHUL MAHARAJ Senior Editor

BRAD BRINKLEY Senior Editor, Secretary-General

SANDELE HLANGADALA Senior Editor

JERED SHORKEND Treasurer

VOLUME 12 NAIDOO ISSUE 3: RELATIONSHIPS EAMONN Photographer

ROOMAAN LEACH Love & Law

CONFI MOERANE Discrimination & Hate Crimes Perpetrated Against the LGBTQIA+ Community

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CONTRIBUTORS: CONTRIBUTORS

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NDZALO MASHABA Sexual Abuse in Schools

RA'EESAH VAN DE RHEDE Poem: summersaults in my stomach

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Photographs (besides for headshots) taken by Eamonn Naidoo; thanks, Eamonn as always for your great shots! We would also like to thank Levi Uranovsky for contributing a few photos to this edition as well.

Graphic design by Imaan Sayed. Thanks again Imaan, for putting together our magazine and, as usual, so unbelievably quickly! We really appreciate all the effort and time that you put into making the magazine beautiful.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Thank you to Robin Cupido, Ruth Levin-Vorster, the entire

Altum

Committee,

and

all

student

contributors for giving their time so generously so that we could get this edition complete. This is a

SEPTEMBER 2021

collaborative effort and we are so thankful for the participation and involvement of all.

We hope that you enjoyed the Relationships issue; look out for our last edition of the year. We’ll be sending out the topics for our fourth term issue VERY soon, so be on the lookout for the last opportunity of 2021 to write for or contribute to the magazine in some way. After exams are complete, we’ll be calling for applications for the 2022 committee, so start thinking about whether you’d like to apply for next year.

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