Sa gays
Unlike children, gays and lesbians do not have a special section in the Bill of Rights dedicated to their rights. Rather, the relevant part of section 9 of the Constitution, entitled "Equality", states that:
"(3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social start, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, creed, culture, language and birth."
Gays and lesbians are protected by the inclusion of sexual orientation as one of the listed grounds on which unfair discrimination may not take place.
The listing of specific cases in section 9(3) does not mean, however, that to be considered unconstitutional, discrimination would have to be based on one of the grounds mentioned.
Gay rights might enjoy protection even in the absence of the specific reference to sexual orientation. But their explicit mentioning gives our Bill of Rights a special place in the world: South Africa was the first territory to enshrine gay rights in its Constitution and, in so doing, provide its citizens with constitutional protection from discrimination on the
Vulnerability and threat: portraying gay male victimologies in South Africa by analysing online community reports
Introduction
The LGBTIQ+ community “who are already stigmatised for other reasons of minority stress” – Terrance Crawford, Director of Crystal Metropolis documentary (This Pink Cloud, 2022) is being victimised, including occurrences of abuse perpetrated against same-sex attracted men in recent socio-technological environments that require renewed and continuous research (De Barros, 2024). The origin of judgemental views about queer men, causing them to be more vulnerable, is arguable. Contemporary ideas could be influenced by religious or cultural beliefs that homosexual attractions are sinful, or that in many countries around the world, antiquated sodomy laws to gay male relationships, still exist. The social authority required for gay men to live empowered lives with dignity, free from the pervasive threat of violence remains mostly ephemeral or inaccessible (Yates, 2022). Pontifications about what normal sex and sexual orientation are, with heteronormativity as the default, are a challenge to emancipatory conscientisation about the LGBTIQ+ community and thereby cont
South Africa: Constitutional Court
National Coalition for Queer and Lesbian Equality and Others v Minister of Dwelling Affairs and Others (CCT10/99) [1999] ZACC 17; 2000 (2) SA 1; 2000 (1) BCLR 39 (2 December 1999)
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
Case CCT 10/99
THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR GAY AND
LESBIAN EQUALITY First Appellant/Applicant
SVEN PATRIK ALBERDING Second Appellant/Applicant
FIONA JANE LIEBE SAUNDERS WATSON Third Appellant/Applicant
MALCOLM CLIVE NORTH Fourth Appellant/Applicant
FRANCK ANDRÉ CHARLES JOLY Fifth Appellant/Applicant
LINDA AOUDIA Sixth Appellant/Applicant
ARGYRIS SOTIRIS ARGYROU Seventh Appellant/Applicant
CLINT LEWIS TATCHELL Eighth Appellant/Applicant
LUCINDA SLINGSBY Ninth Appellant/Applicant
STEVEN MARK LE GRANGE Tenth Appellant/Applicant
HILTON MARC KAPLAN Eleventh Appellant/Applicant
CHRISTINE HAZEBROUCQ Twelfth Appellant/Applicant
JACOBUS JOHANNES DE Soaked STEYN Thirteenth Appellant/Applicant
THE COMMISSION FOR GENDER EQUALITY Fourteenth Appellant/Applicant
versus
THE MIN
LGBTIQA+
The Department of Human Services (DHS) celebrates diversity and strives to improve the lives of all people. We want our services and workplaces to be safe and inclusive, and we are committed to supporting Lesbian, Gay, Pansexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer*, Asexual and other sexually, gender and bodily diverse (LGBTIQA+) South Australians.
DHS does this by:
- Funding community services and grants for LGBTIQA+ people
- Developing government policy that endorse LGBTIQA+ communities
- Ensuring that DHS is inclusive for all LGBTIQA+ people
- Supporting other government agencies to be more LGBTIQA+ inclusive
- Co-ordinating a Rainbow Email Network to split information about research, resources, events, grants and consultation opportunities.
* DHS recognises that some people will use terms other than LGBTIQA+, and that terms like “queer” will be seen as derogatory by some people, especially older community members. DHS respects the language that all people apply to describe their gender, sexuality, or bodily diversity.
.