OUT is helping to educate learners about the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community through a series of workshops in schools across the Eastern Cape. The initiative is led by the Eastern Cape Department of Education in collaboration with the Department of Justice.
As a member of the Department of Justice Provincial Task Team, OUT LGBT Well-being is playing a significant role in the programme. OUT’s Human Rights Coordinator, Sibonelo Ncanana Trower, is among those visiting schools in Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City to help learners understand the importance of LGBTIQ+ equality and inclusion.
“The reception from the learners was surprisingly positive,” says Trower of the seven schools he’s presented at so far. “They were generally engaging and took it quite seriously,” he adds. OUT will continue to assist with this important initiative in the Eastern Cape.
LGBTIQ+ students often face discrimination and bullying in schools in South Africa. According to a 2016 Love Not Hate report by OUT LGBT Well-being, 56% of LGBT South Africans surveyed said they’d experienced discrimination based on their sexuality or gender identity while attending school.