Fun Fast Facts:
- In 1994, male same-sex conduct was legalised, female same-sex conduct was never illegal.
- In 2008, age of consent equalised to age of 16.
- Was illegal under apartheid government, was a crime punishable by up to seven years in prison.
- In 1996, South Africa became first jurisdiction in the world to provide constitutional protection for LGBT people via section 93 of the constitution (disallows discrimination on race, gender or sexual orientation).
- In December 2005, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that it was unconstitutional to prevent people of the same gener from marrying.
LGBT-friendly organisation: Mr. Gay World
- The Mr. Gay World Competition is a Twenty First Century public performance where the delegates represent their nation as the best spokesperson and embody the spirit of their nation.
- The competition takes place over four days and includes different challenges: sports, fashion show/run way, swim suit, public speaking and a local outreach.
W3JOY interviewed: Lance Weyer, Mr. Gay South Africa (2011)
Before I got into politics, I worked in a school….I came across a lot of young LGBTI people that were battling with their sexuality. I’m sure you can remember being a teenager and gay is not the easiest thing…sometimes it’s more acceptable and sometimes it’s not.
Segregation still plays a role, and even within the LGBTI community, things tend to be quite segregated between gay and lesbian and even along racial lines.
I can’t understand why an already segregated minority would want to further segregate themselves, but it’s something we really have to work on.
There is mixing, but in general…if you go to a bar, it is mainly black or mainly white.
I think the reason why we have fewer [LGBTIs] of colour is more because in the African communities, it’s considered a huge taboo and their families tend to battle it more.
W3JOY interviewed: Francoise Nel, Former Mr. Gay South Africa and Mr. Gay World (2011)
Safe sex is something that is very much in the gay community.
HIV is a very serious condition in the African, and South African, context.
There’s still a certain amount of segregation, not only between LGBTI and heterosexual communities, but also between communities of different ethnic races.
I do think that within the demographic of my age group and younger, that those things will change.
South Africa is as … volatile …as any other country when it comes to the recognition of equal human rights. From a generation point of view, I can certainly see that those things are getting better and that there is more integration of people mixing irrespective of their background, ethnic origin, or their sexual orientation for that matter.
It’s a progression, it’s not something that’s going to change overnight.
Published on: Sep 22, 2012 @ 2:54
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:52 — 31.9MB)