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Timeline of LGBT history in South Africa

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This is a timeline of notable events in the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in South Africa.

1900s

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1907

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1960s

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1966

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  • January – The Forest Town raid: police raid a gay party attended by about 300 people in Forest Town, a suburb of Johannesburg. This attracts much public and political attention, leading in 1969 to an extension of the criminalisation of male homosexuality.[1][2]

1969

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  • 21 May – The Immorality Amendment Act, 1969 introduces Section 20A, the infamous "men at a party" clause, which criminalised all sexual acts committed between men "at a party", where "party" is defined as any occasion where more than two people are present. The amendment also raised the age of consent for male homosexual activity from 16 to 19, although "sodomy" and "unnatural acts" were already criminal.[3] Openly gay nationalist composer Hubert du Plessis appears before Parliament to protest the tightening of anti-homosexuality laws.[4]

1970s

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1971

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1980s

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1987

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  • In the country's 1987 general election, GASA and the gay magazine Exit endorsed the National Party candidate for Hillbrow, Leon de Beer. De Beer was the National Party's first candidate to address gay rights, and advertised for his campaign in Exit.[5] It was the general opinion of the gay community of Hillbrow that their vote was the deciding factor in de Beer's ultimate victory.[6]

1988

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1990s

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1990

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1994

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  • 27 April – The Interim Constitution comes into force. It includes a clause explicitly prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, giving LGBT South Africans legal protection for the first time. A subsequent court decision in 1998 will establish that the crime of sodomy was legally invalid from this date.

1997

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  • 4 February – The final Constitution comes into force, including the same anti-discrimination protections as the Interim Constitution.

1998

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1999

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  • 12 February – In the case of National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs, three judges of the Cape Provincial Division of the High Court rule that it is unconstitutional for the government to provide immigration benefits to the foreign spouses of South Africans but not to the foreign same-sex partners of South Africans. The declaration of invalidity is suspended for one year to allow Parliament to correct the law.
  • 2 December – The Constitutional Court unanimously confirms the judgment of the High Court in the second National Coalition case, but removes the suspension of the order and instead "reads in" words to the law to immediately extend immigration benefits to same-sex partners.

2000s

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2001

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2002

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  • 25 July – The Constitutional Court unanimously confirms the judgment of the High Court in the Satchwell case, but modifies the order to limit the benefits to same-sex life partners who have undertaken "reciprocal duties of support".
  • 10 September – The Constitutional Court unanimously confirms the judgment and order of the High Court in the Du Toit case.
  • 18 October – In the case of Fourie v Minister of Home Affairs, a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division dismisses the application of a lesbian couple to have their union recognised as a marriage on the grounds that they failed to attack the constitutionality of the Marriage Act.
  • 31 October – In the case of J and B v Director General, Department of Home Affairs, a judge of the Durban & Coast Local Division of the High Court rules that a child born to a lesbian couple must be regarded as legitimate in law, and that both partners must be legally regarded as natural parents of the children and recorded as such on the birth register.

2003

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  • 28 March – The Constitutional Court unanimously confirms the judgment and order of the High Court in the J and B case.
  • 31 July – The Constitutional Court refuses leave for a direct appeal in the Fourie case, directing that the appeal should instead be heard by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

2004

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  • 15 March – The Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, 2003 comes into force, allowing transsexual and intersex people to change their legally recognised sex.
  • July – The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project launches a case in the Witwatersrand Local Division challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of the Marriage Act that limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.
  • 30 November – A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court of Appeal hands down a judgment in the Fourie case. The majority of four rules that the common-law definition of marriage must be extended to include same-sex marriages but that such marriages cannot be solemnised in South Africa until the Marriage Act is amended, either by Parliament or by the Equality Project's application. The judgment is appealed to the Constitutional Court by both parties.

2005

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  • 11 March – The Chief Justice instructs that the Equality Project case will be heard by the Constitutional Court simultaneously with the Fourie case.
  • 1 December – The Constitutional Court delivers its judgment in the Fourie and Equality Project cases (now known as Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie). The court rules that the common-law definition of marriage and the Marriage Act are unconstitutional because they do not allow same-sex couples to marry. The court suspends its order for one year to allow Parliament to rectify the discrimination.

2006

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  • 4 February – 19-year-old Zoliswa Nkonyana was stabbed and stoned to death in Khayelitsha for living openly as a lesbian.[8][9]
  • 31 March – In the case of Gory v Kolver NO, a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division rules that a same-sex life partner is entitled to inherit from the intestate estate of the other partner as if they were married.
  • August – The government rejects a call by the African Christian Democratic Party for a constitutional amendment to reverse the Constitutional Court's decision on same-sex marriage. Cabinet approves the introduction of the Civil Union Bill in Parliament.
  • 13 September – The Civil Union Bill is introduced in the National Assembly. As originally drafted, the bill would provide for "civil partnerships", for same-sex couples only, which would have the same legal consequences as marriage but would not be called marriage.
  • 14 November – The National Assembly passes the Civil Union Bill, with amendments to allow marriages or civil partnerships available to same-sex and opposite-sex couples, by 230 votes to 41.
  • 23 November – The Constitutional Court confirms the judgment and order of the High Court in the Gory case.
  • 28 November – The National Council of Provinces passes the Civil Union Bill by 36 votes to 11.
  • 29 November – The Civil Union Act, 2006 is signed into law by Acting President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
  • 1 December – The first legal same-sex marriage is performed, in George.

2007

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2008

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  • 28 April – Banyana Banyana footballer and LGBT activist Eudy Simelane is raped and murdered in KwaThema in what is believed to be a hate crime.
  • 31 March – In the case of Geldenhuys v National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Supreme Court of Appeal rules that the erstwhile difference in the age of consent was unconstitutional, notwithstanding that it has already been rectified by Parliament.
  • 26 November – The Constitutional Court confirms the order of the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Geldenhuys case.

2010s

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2010

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2011

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2014

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2015

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2018

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  • Laverne Cox became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of any Cosmopolitan magazine (specifically, Cosmopolitan South Africa's February 2018 issue).[19]

Notes

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  1. ^ Gevisser, pp. 30–36
  2. ^ West, pp. 23–26
  3. ^ West, p. 25
  4. ^ James May (2011) Obituary – Hubert du Plessis, Journal of the Musical Arts in Africa, 8:1, 115-116, DOI: 10.2989/18121004.2011.652401
  5. ^ Conway, Daniel (December 2009). "Queering Apartheid: The National Party's 1987 'Gay Rights' Campaign in Hillbrow". Journal of Southern African Studies. 35 (4): 849–863. doi:10.1080/03057070903313210. S2CID 144525158.
  6. ^ de Waal, Shaun (1 September 1989). "Everyone's chasing the Hillbrow gay vote". Mail & Guardian. South Africa. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  7. ^ de Waal, Shaun; Manion, Anthony, eds. (2006). Pride: Protest and Celebration. Jacana Media. ISBN 9781770092617. Archived from the original on 28 April 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Lesbian killers in South Africa get 18-year jail terms". BBC News. February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Evidence for Sentencing in the Zoliswa Nkonyana Murder Trial". Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  10. ^ Tolsi, Niren (11 January 2008). "Is it the kiss of death?". Mail & Guardian. South Africa. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  11. ^ "South Africa commits to engaging Africa on violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people". LHR. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014. Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe (in this week) committed government to a concrete plan to work against the extreme hate-crime of 'curative rape' of lesbians within a clear time-frame.
  12. ^ "Team starts work on gay hate crimes". Independent Online. South Africa. South African Press Association-DPA. 10 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  13. ^ a b "National Intervention Strategy for LGBTI Sector 2014" (PDF). Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  14. ^ "Radebe launches LGBTI violence programme". Independent Online. South Africa. South African Press Association. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  15. ^ Diale, Lerato (30 April 2014). "Plan to combat gender violence". The New Age. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  16. ^ Smith, David (26 May 2014). "South Africa appoints first lesbian to cabinet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 May 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  17. ^ Thelwell, Emma (6 June 2014). "SA's first gay minister: why it matters". News24. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  18. ^ DeBarros, Luiz (22 July 2016). "This is Phuti Lekoloane – South Africa's first openly gay male footballer". Mamba Online. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  19. ^ Wong, Curtis M. (22 January 2018). "Laverne Cox Makes History As Cosmopolitan's First Transgender Cover Girl". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

References

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  • Gevisser, Mark and Edwin Cameron (1995) Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa. New York, Routledge. ISBN 0-415-91061-7.
  • West, Donald J. and Richard Green (eds.) (1997). Sociolegal Control of Homosexuality: A Multi-Nation Comparison. New York, Plenum Press. ISBN 0-306-45532-3.