Pretoria – Government is set to launch a campaign that will put the spotlight on issues faced by lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI) people.
The campaign will be launched on Monday, 9 November, at Atteridgeville Community Hall by Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister John Jeffery under the hashtag “I Serve Equally”. Communications Minister Faith Muthambi is also expected to give a message of support.
The campaign is an initiative of NGO Access Chapter 2 and is supported by both the South African Police Service and the Justice and Constitutional Development Ministry.
Last year, the department launched its LGBTI programme, which aims to promote partnerships between government, civil society, business and the media in the fight against gender-based violence and to encourage communities to report such crimes.
This followed the work of the national task team that was set up in 2011 to develop a national intervention strategy that will be used as a guide to clamp down on violence against LGBTI people.
Access Chapter 2 Director Mmapaseka Steve Letsike said a pledge will be signed and materials for this campaign are ready. Letsike said the #IServeEqually campaign will also be in honour of “Small” Manganye (27), who was a lesbian.
She was gang raped twice. After she reported the first incident to the police, her docket went missing and no one accounted for it. Manganye did not report the second incident to the police because of the way the first case was handled. Manganye, who was born and raised in Atteridgeville, committed suicide earlier this year.
“The struggle of LGBTI people … [is that they] are stigmatised, they face discrimination and often experience secondary victimisation when they report hate crimes...
“The campaign serves to defend and promote the fundamental freedoms and equality for all. #IServeEqually campaign is a call for all service providers to provide services to everyone equality.
“This campaign was established to address the challenges faced by LGBTI people when reporting criminal and discrimination cases to the police. The campaign's intention is to foster equal services for al land for service providers to change their attitude,” said Letsike. - SAnews.gov.za
