South Africa is one of the most progressive countries in advancing the rights of sexual and gender minorities in Africa, and our Constitution is the first in the world to prohibit unfair discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
But even though the Constitution guarantees all citizens’ rights, many factors still conspire to make trans- gender and gender-diverse persons particularly vulnerable to life-threatening marginalisation, oppression, violence, and exclusion.
These factors include access to education, socio-economic status, health status, stigma, housing and discrimination.
As a result, universities must develop policies and tactics to combat transphobia and transcend the gender binary.
University communities around the world have seen an increase in the number of persons who identify as transgender, gender-diverse and non-binary. However, it appears that universities are not comprehensively ready to…