Clinic staff, NGO members march to bring awareness to LGBTQIA+ issues
Action also focuses on preventing gender-based violence
On Wednesday December 13, staff from the department of health’s Nkwenkwezi clinic, together with members of civil society organisations S.H.E and Sakhuluntu, marched through Nemato’s streets.
The purpose was to raise awareness about gender-based violence and protest against discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/ questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities.
The walk was from Nkwenkwezi Clinic to Ingubo Children’s Haven, where community members gathered for a talk. There, the department offered testing stations for HIV, TB and blood pressure.
“This project aims to [capacitate] smaller and nascent LGBTQIA+ groups in the Sarah Baartman district. We chose this district because it is rural,” said health promotion practitioner Siphokazi Mangqalaza.
Sakhuluntu is an organisation that has been developed through an international funder Love Alliance, which has created three groups in the Sarah Baartman district. Sakhuluntu is based in Ndlambe. Sakhuluntu aims to be registered as a nonprofit organisation (NPO) by the end of 2024.
S.H.E (Social Health & Empowerment) was founded in 2010 by Leigh-Ann van der Merwe, a black transgender woman of coloured descent. It was registered in 2012.
S.H.E was established in response to the lack of transgender women in
spaces where decisions are made regarding transgender rights on the African continent.
S.H.E is registered and headquartered in East London.
“At the provincial level, in addition
to all other functions, we are also a service provision agency, working to advance appropriate, relevant and quality sexual health services to everybody on the spectrum of sexual and gender diversity,” S.H.E.
programme co-ordinator Thandolwethu Mpande said.
Ward 7 councillor, Sibusiso Melani spoke about embracing and accepting LGBTQIA+ people in the community.
He emphasised the importance of women and children being safe at all times.
“We want to live in a community where everyone is safe: safe to be whom they want to be, or who they are, without shame and discrimination,” Melani said.
The Ward 7 councillor went on to explain and read out women’s and children’s rights to the audience and the constitutional rights of LGBTQIA+ people. He encouraged community members to report discrimination and other forms of abuse.
The LGBTQIA+ community often faced stigma and discrimination when it came to accessing health services, Mangqalaza said. The day’s focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights was intended to advocate for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in their communities. This included access to condoms, lubricants, finger cots, dental dams and family planning, as well as to treatment such as ART, PrEP and, for transgender people, access to hormone replacement therapy.
“The police need also to take accountability when queer people come and report cases of sexual violence, or any hate crime,” Mangqalaza said.
“They also need to be sensitised on how to deal with cases for LGBTQIA+ people.”
Staff at the department of home affairs also needed to be aware when people wanted to change their legal gender marker according to Act 49 of 2003: Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status.