Court victory for blind visitor to wine farm

When blind Paralympic swimmer Hendri Herbst and his guide dog, Stan, were denied access to a well-known Cape Town wine estate more than four years ago‚ Herbst experienced the discrimination he had encountered all his life.

But his victory in the Equality Court has given him hope that people with disabilities will enjoy shared spaces with greater dignity.

The Equality Court ordered a settlement between the two parties‚ with Durbanville Hills told to issue a public apology and undertake steps to ensure that all its staff take part in sensitivity training from the Guide Dog Association of SA.

The wine estate will have to pay R50‚000 in damages to Herbst and make a R50‚000 donation to the association for a media campaign to raise awareness about guide dogs.

“This will hopefully raise awareness about the challenges we face and serve as a deterrent for establishments who engage in this kind of intolerance,” Herbst said.

The wine farm had previously denied wrongdoing‚ suggesting that it had made an effort to move Herbst and his family to an outdoor table to accommodate his dog.

But Herbst disputed this‚ saying he was denied basic access based on its no-dogs-allowed policy.

“It’s an ongoing issue‚” Herbst said in May of the discriminatory practices of restaurants‚ shopping centres and other shared spaces against people with disabilities‚ as he and his legal team from the Stellenbosch Law Clinic prepared to take the matter to the Equality Court.

“You are completely reliant on your guide dog‚ and owners are subjected to this kind of humiliation on a regular basis.

“It’s like telling wheelchair users that they’re welcome to come in‚ but only if they leave their wheelchair behind.”

One of their aims in taking the matter to court was to set a precedent on the discriminatory practice.

However, Herbst believed that the court’s acceptance that the incident was unjust served as a suitable compromise.

“It was never about me personally,” he said. “I wanted to do something that would help many more people.”

On its website‚ Durbanville Hills said it unconditionally apologised for the experience of Herbst and his family on December 30 2014 at its tasting and restaurant facilities.

Managing director Albert Gerbe said they were “looking forward to putting the incident in the past and training staff so as for nothing like this to happen again”.