Citizenship rights, discrimination and stigmatisation of LGBTI students by health care services at a South African rural-based university

abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals experience stigmatisation and discrimination in their everyday lives. These experiences are noted in South Africa, even though its constitution of 1996 is recorded as the first constitution in the world to explicitly provide for non-discrimination against people based on gender and sexual orientation. This article highlights the findings of an interpretative phenomenological analysis study conducted in a South African rural university. The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of LGBTI individuals with regard to utilisation of the health care services in a South African rural university. The findings of the study focus on citizenship rights and the discrimination that LGBTI students experience in accessing health care services. The main forms of discrimination reported are the heterocentric nature of services and treatment at the campus health clinic and the heteronormative prejudice held by university health care personnel. Recommendations are made to address the problematic social exclusion that arises from heterocentric delivery of health services and highlight the equal rights of LGBTI students to health care that addresses all students’ needs, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, in a South African rural university.

keywords:

• citizenship rights
• discrimination
• LGBTI students
• health care

Notes

1. In this article the following definitions are used:

Lesbian: Female-identified women involved in sexual/romantic relationships with other female-identified women, transgender women or intersex women.

Gay: Male-identified men who seek caring, supportive and sexual relationships with other male-identified men, transgender men or intersex men.

Bisexual: Female-identified women and male-identified men who seek caring, supportive and sexual relationships with other men and women, be they biologically male or female, transgender or intersex.

Transgender: Persons who live as a gender other than the gender assigned to them at birth - whether they have chosen to make use of surgery and/or hormones, or not.

Intersex: Individuals who were born with an anatomy or physiology that differs from contemporary ideals of the so-called ‘normal’ male or female (Brouard and Pieterse, 2012:50 see also Human Rights Watch, 2009).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi

AZWIHANGWISI HELEN MAVHANDU-MUDZUSI works at the University of South Africa. She holds a PhD in management, a master’s degree in nursing, and honours degrees in psychology and nursing. She has several diplomas in nursing, both at a basic and an advanced level. Her main passion is advocacy for marginalised groups, especially people living with HIV and AIDS and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in higher education institutions and rural communities. She is involved in several LGBTI research and advocacy projects at national and international level. She is the first black female heterosexual board member of OUT LGBTI in South Africa and is a member of the Higher Education HIV/AIDS Programme Association of African Universities. She has published several articles on experiences of LGBTI students and has represented LGBTI students at national and international conferences. She has initiated advocacy and support programmes for LGBTI students in South African rural-based and open distance learning university environments.