Student LGBTI group took to the street

Liberati was founded in 2009 to give a voice to issues facing the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) society of UJ.  They feel that there is still a lot that the university can do to aid their cause. Liberati organiser and marketing manager Realeboga Manotwana said, “We feel that we are not being catered for, for example as far as distributing condoms is concerned, there is access to both male and female condoms but we never get gay lubricants for gay students. We need structural change and gender sensitivity on campus.”

Liberati hosted a silent march of activism, fighting for the gay and lesbian rights at the Kingsway campus on the 17^th of May 2012.  The march formed part of the International day against Homophobia commemoration. The event was covered by numerous national radio stations and newspapers.

Manotwana said the gender and transformation office is “not doing its job” because they are not supporting them and they feel they do not necessarily have rights on campus. “When a gay is assaulted on campus it is not considered a hate crime, which is wrong because when they beat you on campus because your of your sexuality, it is a hate crime.”

Deputy Chairperson of Liberati, Katlego Pilusa, said there is an individual that would like to remain anonymous who was once attacked by a group of male students coming from the library because of his sexuality. The case was reported to the campus security but the victim was not impressed with the way the case was handled because it took long to resolve and his main concern was that he was not invited to form part of the hearing.

According to Miss Manotwana there have been a number of homosexual attacks on campus.  The LGBT society is in need of support and want to be treated as human beings and not treated differently because of their sexuality.

The silent march was an appeal to the University for support. “Hopefully after the march the University is going to hear us and give us attention,” said Manotwana. Liberati is appealing to the university to have gay and lesbian rights stipulated for them and the different situations they face. Protection, sexual education, gender sensitivity, counselling, support and structural change are some of the changes they are asking for. The University has the ability to influence change so that all students, regardless of sexual orientation, can feel comfortable and excel in their studies without being judged.

Protection services director Mr Roelof Hugo said all the cases that are reported to them are handled appropriately without discrimination in terms of race, sexuality or any other criteria. He said that when a case is reported, they investigate it and send it to student affairs which then hold a hearing or the appropriate conduct depending on the crime committed. Mr Theo Botha who is the acting Head of Protection Services APK added “if we discriminated we would have declined the march, as long as a person is a student at UJ they have our full protection, we will not treat them differently because they are gay or lesbian.”