The lesbian and gay community in KwaZulu-Natal say 25 years into democracy they are still being victimised by indigenous language often used by some print media when writing their stories.
The Lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBT) community organisation held a seminar facilitated by the Human Rights Commission to discuss their concerns about the derogatory names with the media and the Pan South African Language Board in Durban.
A member of the LGBT, Sibongiseni Khumalo, says media contributes to the victimisation they face in their communities.
“We’re voicing out the use of the word derogatory word by media because for us as the LGBT community and I as an activist from the organisation that represents LGBT in South Africa, we feel that the media still uses these words that are very offensive to the LGBT community. So today we had a dialogue where we have to discuss and maybe come out with other more suitable words that we feel will be ok to use in print, television or radio.”
The Human rights Commission facilitator, Benjamin Ntombela, says everyone is equal before the law and that no one should be discriminated on based on their sexual preference.
“The first right in the constitution says that everyone is equal before the law and because everyone is equal, the government or the ordinary person on the street has the no right to discriminate anyone else based on their sexual orientation, religion or skin colour. The constitution also says there should be a law that will prevent people from discriminating others.”
