South Africa: Sexual minorities face uphill battle claiming their rights

Too often when we talk about gender-based violence there is a deafening silence about attacks on lesbian, gay and transgender people. This is because of what their sexual orientation and/or gender identity may represent. For many, living out one’s sexual orientation if it is not heterosexual, is still not viewed as a right. Argued under the pretext of culture, religion or morality, the ill-treatment of lesbian and gay people is tacitly accepted in South African society. Hetero-sexism ensures the continued exclusion of those whose very existence challenges dominant forms of gender relations in a patriarchal context.