The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) will on Tuesday – 28 September 2021 – launch a national campaign to solicit public comments and contributions on the state of LGBTI + equality in South Africa. The comments will be used to identify key areas of intervention for the CGE to ensure the achievement of LGBTI+ equality in South Africa.
The CGE is a chapter nine institution tasked with ensuring the promotion of respect for gender equality and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality. In line with its powers to monitor, investigate, research, educate, lobby, advise and report on issues concerning gender equality, the CGE launches its #LGBTI+equality project.
The objective of the project is to assess the state of LGBTI+ equality in South Africa 27 years after the achievement of democracy in South Africa. Whilst acknowledging the progress over the last decades of our democracy: Equality in marriage, removal of sodomy laws, equal recognition of spousal benefits and inclusion of same-sex couples in adoption, also means a re-look at the areas where there has been little to no progress and even regression in important areas of transgender inclusion, forced divorces and intersex genital mutilation.
The eradication of explicitly discriminatory legislative provisions from South Africa’s law books has not eradicated societal prejudices that entrench and encourage discriminatory practices and actions in employment, access to health, criminal justice and safety and security. Whilst the Constitutional Court has recognised and declared unconstitutional various exclusionary provisions, this has had little effect on improving the life chances of the LGBTI+ community as a whole.
The Commission seeks public inputs from the public and civil society organisations on the following human rights areas of concern: (i) Criminal justice; (ii) Right to education; (iii) Labour and employment; (iv) Access to healthcare for transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons; and (v) Any other human rights issues deemed crucial for the achievement for LGBTI+ equality in South Africa.
Source: Government of South Africa