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Life orientation

Grade 8

Social development and career orientation

Module 25

Individual rights and responsibilities in everyday situations

Activity 4:

To apply the rights and responsibilities of individuals to situations in everyday life

[lo 2.1]

Case studies

The following are translations of extracts from newspaper reports or letters written to newspapers. Four of the extracts are taken from Die Burger of 10 September 2003, and one is from the Tyger Burger of 6 August 2003.

Read these extracts and discuss them in terms of individual rights and responsibilities in small groups (four learners to a group) or in a class discussion (to be decided by the educator). Note which of the human rights that are mentioned in the Bill of Rights are relevant to each extract. List as many rights and responsibilities as possible in each instance.

Case Number 1:

AFTER HIS FAMILY'S HIJACKING, SOLI'S ONLY WISH IS TO GET BACK HOME

Marenet Jordan

When he heard that his family had been victims in a hijacking, one of the Mother City's well-loved comedians wanted to return home at all costs before a show in Johannesburg was due to start

Two armed men robbed Mrs Tony Philander, wife of Soil Philander, and their four children of their car and seriously injured the family dog at the family home in Rose bank.

Mrs Philander and the children stopped on the driveway to their home in Brandenburg Circus after an outing with her sister from Johannesburg, at about 17:20 yesterday afternoon.

"My eldest daughter, Dania, told me that she saw two men approaching, but she thought they were trying to find shelter from the rain," Mrs. Philander told Die Burger last night.

"But when I saw that one of them had a pistol in his hand, I realised that there was trouble ahead."

The men demanded that she hand over her car keys and handbag.

(Source: Die Burger , 10 September 2003)

  • Relevant rights / responsibilities:

Case Number 2:

NO TO AGE FOR SEX

I refer to the report "ACDP against age for sex" (DB 6/9). I voice my strongest possible objection to this plan.

As a registered voter of this country, medical doctor and mother of a thirteen-year-old girl, I should like to know the motivation behind the proposed lowering of the age of consent to sexual experimentation to between 12 and 16 years, as proposed in the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill.

I regard it as a shocking infringement of the rights of the children of this country to be protected by legislation against sexual exploitation, rape and child prostitution.

There are many teenagers who, in spite of all the information on sexually transmitted diseases, are sexually active by choice from a young age. Likewise, there are many teenagers who abuse drugs, but the latter fact cannot be used to motivate the legalisation of drug use.

How could a responsible government possible justify the proposed legislation on consent to sexual experimentation?

It is time for each parent in South Africa to call the government to book!

CORRESPONDENTDurbanville

(Source: Die Burger, 10 September 2003)

  • Relevant rights / responsibilities:
  • Case Number 3:

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Source:  OpenStax, Life orientation grade 8. OpenStax CNX. Sep 12, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11048/1.1
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