This is a good Bill and we support it. We worked hard on it and I think it came out fairly well. There are a couple of things which, perhaps, will be worthwhile to highlight, over and above what has been said thus far which aptly describe the Bill.
Hon Schfer referred to the provision relating to sexual harassment, and so did hon Adams. One thing that needs to be said is that this provision brings to fruition what was meant to be achieved by the Labour Relations Act, which somehow did not work. Effectively this will be the first time in South Africa that those impacted by sexual harassment will have an actual remedy against this practice, especially in the workplace. We are confident that it will be able to bring about what the Labour Relations Act wanted to bring about, but failed in in respect of sexual harassment.
There are a couple of minor concerns. The definition of "related person" and the effect that it carries in the Bill seem to remain contradictory. One would hope that that will be taken care of at the NCOP level.
The other concern is about the limitation of the space of freedom in terms of anonymity on the Internet. I'm satisfied that, through the amendments made in the committee, there are belts and braces to protect any abuse in respect of this Bill. Nonetheless, it is concerning that, for the first time, we are creating state powers in what was an area of freedom; where there was anonymity. A great deal of these things are done for the right reason but they remain wrong and intrusive.
We need to remain vigilant to make sure that this space and this new power will not be abused. We must keep in mind that what we are dealing with here is not a crime. We are dealing below the level of criminal activity. Harassment in this Bill is not a criminal harassment. In that respect the limitation on the space of anonymity on the Internet, in spite of the belts and braces built into this Bill, was a matter of concern that we raised.
With that qualification we support the Bill and recommend it to the National Assembly for approval.