The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will be hosting open hearings on xenophobia in November and has called for written submissions from individuals, organisations and interested parties. SAHRC chairman Jody Kollapen said in a statement xenophobia was "pretty widespread" but "difficult to quantify" in South Africa, manifesting itself in the workplace, academic communities as well as on the street where it affected informal traders. The problem affected both South Africans and non-South Africans, he said.