Giving Compass' Take:

• An LGBTQ mural was defaced at WITS University in Johannesburg, prompting the university to respond to the reality of homophobia within the broader context of LGBTQ discrimination in South Africa. 

•WITS does have programs at the university that offer safe spaces for LGBTQ students, but what services does it provide for them after they graduate? Can they expand their network of support to alumni?

• Read about the South African activists that are calling for sensitivity around LGBTQ individuals coming out. 

At Wits University in Johannesburg, a wall that had been painted in colours representing the LGBTQ+ community was defaced with hateful phrases.

Slurs and hateful words were scrawled on the newly-painted wall ahead of Wits Pride activities which took place at the end of August.

The case was reported to the university, and is being dealt with “in line with university policy which does not condone homophobic and transphobia on campus,” according to Tish White, the programme coordinator for sexual orientation and gender identity advocacy at the university.

But, as White told Global Citizen, it’s a “disappointing indication” of the fact that — despite safe spaces and celebration of the value of the LGBTQ+ community — universities can still present “a microcosm of a greater homophobic and transphobic society in which queer folk get murdered and raped for being queer with little support or appropriate anger from bystanders.”

According to a university statement, Wits Pride “offers safe spaces to discuss intersections of violence, get information on sexual orientations and gender identifies, find community in social events, and celebrate the immense value LGBTQ+ people offer to the entire university community.”

“We train allies for LGBTQ+ people on how to be supportive and resource them with knowledge on queerness,” he said, adding that over 180 allies have been trained to date and are located across the university community to ensure a safe and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ people.

In South Africa, and around the world, the LGBTQ+ community still faces staggering levels of violence, abuse, and discrimination. A 2017 report showed that four in 10 LGBTQ+ South Africans know of someone how has been murdered, simply “for being or suspected of being” LGBTQ+. And black people were twice as likely as white people to be one of those 40%.

Read the full article about LGBTQ discrimination by Thato Mahlangu at Global Citizen