In May 1996, South Africa became the first jurisdiction in the world to provide constitutional protection to LGBT people.
This was done via section 9(3) of the South African Constitution, which disallows discrimination on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other grounds.
Fast forward to almost two decades later and the community has evolved to include Queer, Intersex, and Asexual persons who are fully embraced by the Economic Freedom Fighters, since inception.
The EFF through its 2024 election manifesto continues to advocate for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community as it realises that the intersection of gender, race, and social class makes this community vulnerable to discrimination and hate-motivated violence. This is despite the constitutional advancements made by the country.
The truth of the matter is that the LGBTQIA+ community still faces gross discrimination in the labour market, schools, and hospitals and lesbian women face the most atrocities through hate-motivated violence and ‘corrective rape.’
In recognising this, the EFF has committed to working tirelessly to eliminate these inequalities and asserts that an EFF-led government will take practical steps to afford the LGBTQIA+ community their rightful place in society.
The EFF government will raise awareness of the specific needs of the LGBTQIA+ community by developing programmes on gender and sexual diversity.
Some people would benefit from these programmes as it is often ignorance that leads to discriminatory acts and abuse. The onus is on the government to educate its people and that is exactly what the EFF will do when it ascends to power.
Harsher sentences are required concerning homophobic and hate crimes. The EFF will monitor the prevalence of these crimes, their prosecution rates, and how the victims are treated when reporting crimes.
Harsher sentences are the end goal, victim treatment and how cases are attended will ensure that homophobic crimes begin to be treated with the severity that they deserve.
In upholding the culture of inclusion, the EFF government will introduce ‘X’ gender markers in official documents to enable non-binary people to be legally recognised.
The representation must swiftly advance from slogans to practical means that leave no one behind or feeling lesser than others. Not only that but as the EFF we are prepared to assist with laws that will empower the Department of Home Affairs to expedite alterations for all applications of transgender people.
As an organisation that champions decolonised and progressive education in all spheres of learning, the EFF government will ensure that all learners exit the schooling programme with a thorough understanding of gender and sexual diversity through age-appropriate teaching at all levels. This will ensure that diversity is embedded in learning and weaved through the schooling curriculum.
The spillover effects of this will be tolerance and acceptance. One does not have to convert their beliefs to exist harmoniously with members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
This will make it possible to ensure that LGBTQIA+ people have equal access to public services because public services are for all South Africans. Once there is an understanding there might be a decrease in cyberbullying because to date we still see members of the LGBTQIA+ ridiculed and bullied for simply being themselves.
It happens daily and can also be attributed to not spending sufficient time educating and creating spaces for LGBTQIA+ to assimilate seamlessly into their communities and be accepted.
Sexual orientation and diversity have no bearing on the competence of an individual to execute work tasks, or participate in school and have no bearing on their character.
For this reason, the EFF government will ensure better access to services by addressing homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia within the public services thus ensuring access to free gender-affirming treatment in all healthcare facilities.
These facilities should be safe spaces that are void of judgment but rather advocate for inclusion and the protection of an individual’s right to access healthcare and embrace their sexual orientation without fear of judgment or prejudice.
Public space inclusion is not only limited to healthcare but includes all aspects of being catered for by the government of the day. Hence we will be providing gender neutral toilets and changing facilities in all public spaces.
This has been a contentious one and at the end of the day, South Africans should all feel protected and seen and we cannot expand on definitions without creating infrastructure that speaks to that expansion.
To achieve this the EFF government is prepared to amend the Facilities Regulation Act which will enable the implementation of these gender-neutral facilities at schools, workplaces, and all other public spaces to achieve greater inclusion.
In addition to harsher sentencing of homophobia-related crimes, frontline police officers will receive training to accurately record crimes. This will also include training in Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Supplementary funding for GBV and necessary resources will be made available to successfully combat this scourge under the leadership of the EFF.
As a Pan-Africanist movement, our views on the LGBTQIA+ are what we advocate for across the continent and beyond the borders of South Africa.
This is why in 2023 the EFF picketed outside the Uganda High Commission in protest of the anti-gay bill passed by the Ugandan lawmakers. We do not exist on an island in South Africa but are interconnected to other African countries hence we are unafraid to publicly disagree with them.
A person’s sexual preference and or orientation is a personal matter that does not require the insights and opinions of anybody.
The EFF when in government will intensify their support of the LGBTQIA+ community through the redirecting of resources that will educate South Africans, the amendment of necessary laws, the building of infrastructure to cater for this community, and the training of frontline police officers.
South Africa will thrive under an equal society and it will be the mandate of the EFF government to ensure equality for all our people.
* Sixo Gcilishe is the communications manager of the Economic Freedom Fighters.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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