Muhsin Hendricks<\/a>, the country\u2019s first openly gay imam, in February was shot dead in Gqeberha, in a suspected homophobic attack. Authorities in April found the body of Linten Jutzen, a gay crossdresser, in an open field between an elementary school and a tennis court in Cape Town.<\/p>\nA World Economic Forum survey on attitudes towards homosexuality and gender non-conformity in South Africa that Marchant Van Der Schyf conducted earlier this year found that even though 51 percent of South Africans believe gay people should have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, 72 percent of them feel same-sex sexual activity is morally wrong. The survey also notes 44 percent of LGBTQ respondents said they experienced bullying, verbal and sexual discrimination, and physical violence in their everyday lives because of their sexual orientation.<\/p>\n
Van Der Schyf said many attacks occur in the country\u2019s metropolitan areas, particularly Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictims are often lured to either the perpetrator\u2019s indicated residence or an out-of-home area under the appearance of a meet-up,\u201d said Van Der Schyf. \u201cThe nature of the attacks range from strangulation and beatings to kidnapping and blackmail with some victims being filmed naked or held for ransom.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Youth Policy Committee\u2019s Gender Working Group notes South Africa is the first country to constitutionally protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and the fifth nation in the world to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. A disparity, however, still exists between legal protections and LGBTQ people\u2019s lived experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter more than 20 years of democracy, our communities continue to wake up to the stench of grief, mutilation, violation, and oppression,\u201d said the Youth Policy Committee. \u201cLike all human beings, queer individuals are members of schooling communities, church groups, and society at large, therefore, anything that affects them should affect everyone else within those communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Youth Policy Committee also said religious and cultural leaders should do more to combat anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.<\/p>\n
\u201cReligious institutions seem to perpetuate the hate crimes experienced by queer individuals,\u201d said the group. \u201cIn extreme cases, religious leaders have advocated for killings and hateful crimes to be committed against those in the queer community. South Africa\u2019s highly respected spiritual guides, sangomas, are also joining the fight against queer killings and acts of transphobia and homophobia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe LGBTQIA+ community is raising their voice and they need to be supported because they add a unique color to our rainbow nation,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
Steve Letsike, the government\u2019s deputy minister for women, youth, and persons with disabilities, in marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia on May 17 noted Ramaphosa\u2019s administration has enacted legislative framework that protects the LGBTQ community. Letsike, however, stressed the government still needs to ensure its implementation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have passed these policies and we need to make sure that they are implemented fully and with urgency, so that (LGBTQ) persons can self-determine and also have autonomy without any abusive requirements,\u201d said Letsike. \u201cWe need families, faith leaders, traditional authorities, and communities to rise together against hate. Our constitution must remain respected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Siphokazi Dlamini, a social justice activist, said LGBTQ rights should be respected, as enshrined in the constitution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is terrible to even imagine that they face discrimination despite the fact that this has been addressed numerous times,\u201d said Dlamini. \u201cHow are they different from us? Is a question I frequently ask people or why should they live in fear just because we don\u2019t like the way they are and their feelings? However, I would get no response.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dlamini added people still live in fear of being judged, raped, or killed simply because of who they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat needs to be addressed to is what freedom means,\u201d said Dlamini. \u201cFreedom means to have the power to be able to do anything that you want but if it doesn\u2019t hurt other people\u2019s feelings while doing it. There is freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression, of thought, of choice, of religion, of association, and these needs to be practiced. It is time to take such issues seriously in order to promote equality and peace among our people, and those who do not follow these rules should be taken into custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Der Schyf also said LGBTQ South Africans should have a place, such as an inquiry commission, that allows them to talk about the trauma they have suffered and how it influences their distrust of the government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Continued attacks of LGBTQ South Africans are raising serious concerns about the community\u2019s safety and well-being. President Cyril…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[63,750,305,1373,3409,12475,131,14414],"class_list":["post-301950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa","tag-africa","tag-donald-trump","tag-featured","tag-hiv-aids","tag-marco-rubio","tag-pepfar","tag-south-africa","tag-state-department"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116811823972672260","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}