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File: LGBTQIA+ flag.
Activists say the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex Plus (LGBTQI+) community is continuing to face intolerance and exclusion.
They say although progress has been made in ensuring that the community reaps the rewards of freedom, more can be done.
As the country observes Freedom Day on Monday, the activists are calling on the country to reflect on its citizens’ right.
South Africa’s constitution prohibits discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender and sex.
However activists, Siya Hlongwa says this is not the lived reality of most queer people.
“The stigma is still there, discrimination is still there, even the high numbers of hate crimes are still there, so community members are still not sensitised enough. We need to have more conversations.”
“We have been the beacon of hope when it comes to human rights, and some of those rights fall on queer people; however, the lived realities are different,” adds another activist Sibonelo Ncanana–Trower.
LGBTQI+ activists call for more inclusion:
