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| Table 6.1 Charges and conviction under the immorality act during the year ending June 1967 | | Men | | Women | | | Charged | Convicted | Charged | Convicted | | Whites | 671 | 349 | 18 | 11 | | Coloured | 20 | 5 | 264 | 126 | | Asians | 11 | 4 | 20 | 13 | | Africans | 8 | 5 | 338 | 180 | | Source: Adapted from Horrell 1969: 36. |
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pacify them. He told them to come next Monday, next Wednesday. But no, they said. They had waited yesterday, and now losing their pay for today, and the rent would soon be due, and if they were not classified they would be arrested'Hulle sal ons optel. My vriend was gister opgetal,' they said. The word came from every quarter of the yard,'optel, optel'"
29 (Horrell 1958, 59). |
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Any form of interracial sexuality was strictly forbidden by a series of immorality laws, some of which predated apartheid. Ormond states that "Between 1950 and the end of 1980 more than 11,500 people were convicted of interracial sex; anything from a kiss on up" (1986, 33). These sexual borders were vigorously patrolled by police. Ormond continues, "Special Force Order 025A/69 detailed use of binoculars, tape recorders, cameras, and two-way radios to trap offenders. It also spelled out that bedsheets should be felt for warmth and examined for stains. Police were also reported to have examined the private parts of couples and taken people to district surgeons for examination" (Ormond 1986, 33). The South African Institute of Race Relations (Horrell 1968) shows a typical year for charges and convictions under the Immorality Act in 196667. The racialized gender biases speak for themselves (see table 6.1). |
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For black South Africans, the system of segregation included a legal requirement to carry a pass book, a compilation of documents attesting to birth, education, employment history, marriage, and other life events (see figure 6.1). The books were over fifty pages long. No black was allowed to be in a white area for more than seventy-two hours without special permission, including government authorization for a work contract (such as that for a live-in servant). The consequences of |
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