Tag: gay south africa

Lesbian murder condemned

Johannesburg – The murder of lesbian Duduzile Zozo was brutal, senseless and unacceptable, Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Tuesday. “We urge the community to approach police with any information that will lead to the arrest of people responsible for this barbaric act, so that they can face the full might of the law,” Mokonyane… Read more »

Two gay pride parades for Joburg this year

Johannesburg – After months of uncertainty about whether Joburg will host a gay pride parade after organisers quit, the city will now have two. This highlighted ingrained divisions within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community that were unlikely to dissipate in the foreseeable future, activists said. Last year, members of the feminist anti-rape… Read more »

A day in the field with Sindiswa

Challenging homophobia and improving the health and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex  people in Cape Town Sindiswa works as a senior field worker for Bridging the Gaps partner organization Triangle Project in Cape Town, South Africa. Every day she is driven to do what she can to improve the health and rights… Read more »

South Africa: Gay man killed after going on online date in Cape Town

Reports out of South Africa say a gay man has been killed after going on a date with a person he met over the internet. The body of Graham Flax, 65, was found under a duvet in the corridor outside his flat in Cape Town last weekend. According to News24, a police spokesperson said Mr… Read more »

Blind Alleys

The Unseen Struggles of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Urban Refugees in Mexico, Uganda and South Africa PART I Guidance for NGOs, Governments, UNHCR & Program Funders Read PDF Source – Oram International

South Africa: Lesbian dies after being stabbed with spear

According to the Cape Argus newspaper, Sihle Sikoji, a member of a community group that supports lesbian, bisexual and transgender women who have been sexually assaulted, was stabbed in the chest with a “mini-spear” at the start of last weekend. The attack occurred on Friday 9 November in a part of Cape Town. A friend… Read more »

Tragic story of homophobic violence

For Thabiso Radebe – a proudly gay man – it wasn’t until he was at university that he fully realised how backward society is when it comes to accepting other people’s sexual orientation. In an environment where you’d expect more tolerance, Radebe and his friends found quite the opposite. “Students did not acknowledge gays and… Read more »

South Africa: The (re)making of men

Johannesburg,(PlusNews) – Manhood might be hard to define but South African media make it even harder, according to editors of a new book, who argue that negative coverage of men is doing more harm than good, especially when it comes to HIV. Now they are looking to rewrite masculinity in a country that ranks among… Read more »

ANC slams anti-gay violence

‘It is my belief that gay rights are human rights and that no homophobic violence or prejudice should be tolerated.’ – Western Cape ANC secretary. THE ANC has strongly condemned conservative and traditional communities use of culture as a justification for homophobic discrimination and violence. The ruling party made their stance clear during a meeting with… Read more »

South Africa’s Mandela day protests against anti-gay hate

Thousands of LGBT people have marked Nelson Mandela’s birthday with protests across South Africa against rising levels of hate crimes and government inaction As South Africans celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday the country’s LGBT communities call upon their leaders to take firm action against the rising tide of hate crimes. Thousands of LGBT people protested… Read more »

Gay asylum seekers speak of discrimination in S. Africa

Cape Town (AFP) — Gay African asylum seekers struggle to find work and battle homophobic discrimination in South Africa, the continent’s only nation to allow same-sex marriage, a report showed Tuesday. Interviews with 25 Africans by a Cape Town NGO found that 90 percent were jobless and that nearly all felt unsafe because of their… Read more »

Unsafe haven: Gay refugees in South Africa

With South Africa facing a flood of gay and trans refugees, a creaking asylum system is exposing them to corruption, homophobia and the risk of attack People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty protesting for gay asylum seekers in South Africa. A little over a week ago, Rachel, a 28 year-old asylum seeker from Uganda had… Read more »

The traditional courts bill threatens LGBT South Africans

Proposed legislation giving traditional leaders sole legal authority would undermine the security granted by the bill of rights Since the end of apartheid in South Africa, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities have made unprecedented legal gains under the rubric of the bill of rights. In 2004, 10 years after South Africa’s transition to… Read more »

Mr Gay World 2012 won by German man

The fourth Mr Gay World contest took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday. This was the first time that the contest included black African participants, whose involvement brought its own fraught set of problems. The title was taken by Andreas Derleth, a German man who lives in New Zealand and who beat 21 other contestants.… Read more »

Impassioned fighter for ‘the devil’s people’

“You Are HIV Positive” wrote the doctor who tested 36-year-old John Meletse in 2002. He spelt it out in enormous capitals and held the page right in front of Meletse’s eyes. Meletse, who was born deaf, covers his face with his hands as he tells his story of when he was tested for HIV. His… Read more »

HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment for Men who have Sex with Men in Africa

From February 14 to 16, 2012, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief’s (PEPFAR) most-at-risk populations technical working group, with additional support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), conducted a regional workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa on HIV Prevention among Men Who… Read more »

Africa’s ‘first gay billboard’ unveiled

The organisers of Mr Gay World believe they had unveiled the first ever gay-themed billboard in Africa. The placard went up near Melrose Arch on M1 South in Johannesburg yesterday and is not the competition’s second ‘first’. Mr Gay World had been celebrating having its first ever black contestants in the 2012 event. Representatives had… Read more »

South Aafrica: Copy Cat Murder Of Another Gay Man Brings Death Toll To Eight

The body of a murdered gay man was found at the weekend bound and suffocated in a copy cat manner to seven previous cases. The body of Rulov Senekal, a manager of the Joburg Theatre and a one time Artistic Director of the Johannesburg Youth Ballet in the 1990s, was discovered by one of his… Read more »

An interview with South African Constitutional Court Judge Edwin Cameron discussing homophobia in Africa

via BBC HARDtalk, Interview with Edwin Cameron Living as an openly gay man in socially conservative Africa is hard enough, but Edwin Cameron went even further. He was the first public official in South Africa to reveal his HIV positive status. Nelson Mandela appointed him a judge and he now serves on South Africa’s Constitutional… Read more »

A Charm Offensive Against AIDS

Soweto, South Africa — Shortly after Michel Sidibé became executive director of the United Nations’ AIDS prevention agency, a court in Senegal sentenced nine gay men, all AIDS educators, to eight years in prison for “unnatural acts.” In one of his first moves as the new chief of U.N.AIDS, Mr. Sidibe flew to Senegal to… Read more »

Lesbian killers in South Africa get 18-year jail terms

Four South African men have been sentenced to 18 years in jail for stabbing and stoning to death 19-year-old lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana in 2006. The court found that the men killed Ms Nkonyana because she was living openly as a lesbian. A crowd outside the court in Khayelitsha, a Cape Town township, cheered and danced… Read more »

South African LGBT Organisation Leads Evidence in the Sentencing Of a Hate Crime

OUT LGBT Well-Being – represented by Webber Wentzel Attorneys – will lead further evidence in aggravation of sentence, in a hate crime trial at the Germiston Magistrates Court. The trial in the State vs. Madubaduba and two others has spanned more than three years. In December 2011, the accused were found guilty of assault with… Read more »

Zulu king’s alleged anti-gay comment to be investigated

Anti-gay comments reportedly made by the king of the Zulu people are set to be investigated by South Africa’s Human Rights Commission. The Zulu people are mainly geographically located within the relatively pro-gay African state. The royal family dismissed the comment that gay relationships were “rotten” as a mistranslation by South Africa’s Times newspaper. A… Read more »

Zulu king: Gays are rotten

Zulu king: Gays are rotten Most of the Zulu people remain in South Africa Update: The Zulu royal family has said the comments attributed to the king are the result of “reckless mistranslation”. Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, King of the Zulu people, has reportedly said gay relationships are a new invention and are “rotten”. The African… Read more »

Out Well-Being Sets Groundbreaking Precedent In Hate Crime Case

On Friday, December 9, 2012, OUT, represented by Webber Wentzel Attorneys, was successfully admitted as amicus curiae in the sentencing phase of a hate crimes trial in the Germiston Magistrates Court. The success of OUT’s application is ground breaking on at least two fronts, firstly OUT is the first organisation to be successfully admitted as… Read more »

We’ll Show You You’re a Woman

This 93-page report is based on more than 120 interviews conducted in six provinces. Human Rights Watch found that lesbians and transgender men face extensive discrimination and violence in their daily lives, both from private individuals and government officials. The abusers of people known or assumed to be lesbian, bisexual, or transgender act with near-total… Read more »

Doing Nice Things for Men Who Have Sex With Men

Cape Town — Working up the courage to discuss your sex life with a health worker is challenging at the best of times. For men who have sex with men and transgender women, it’s simply too tough to contemplate and many of them simply decline seeking healthcare or delay until it is too late. A… Read more »