Unintentional misgendering will happen, in which case, students are expected to self-correct and respect every person’s self-identification (pronouns and titles). Students can escalate deliberate misgendering to the Transformation Office in terms of the UP Anti-Discrimination Policy.
“Misgendering [refusing to address the person using their correct pronoun or name] is the most obvious form of discrimination, but requirements of compulsory cisheteronormativity can also be a form of violence,” says Pierre Brouard, Deputy Director of the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Centre for Sexualities, AIDS and Gender (CSA&G). “Bathroom policing, dress codes, binary residences, hate speech, transphobia and shaming can all be experienced as harmful.”
UP’s Anti-discrimination Policy offers a framework with which to address “individual, structural and systemic forms of discrimination and exclusion”, and proposes forms of redress to complainants.
In terms of transgender rights, the policy aims to protect the rights of trans staff and students to dignity at work and in their studies, and “provide support and remedies where unfair discrimination, hate speech and violence are based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and intersex status”.
If you have found that your right to expressing your gender identity has been breached, first report the issue to a senior person in your department/workspace and take it up with the Transformation Office, before following the steps below, as outlined in UP’s Escalation Policy :
The process is as follows:If you are in the process of transitioning – socially or medically – or have transitioned, but are struggling to navigate your experience as a trans individual, there is help available to you at the University. Contact the following UP units:
Plans are afoot to appoint trans-inclusive ambassadors. These are designated persons who will be well versed in University policies in order to assist trans and gender non-conforming students advocate for their rights on campus and in the classroom context.
Trans-inclusive ambassadors will be able to:
Watch this space – more details to come.
For additional resources, or for support, contact the following organisations:
The Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Unit is part of the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. It champions the human rights of LGBTQI+ individuals in Africa. This includes advocating for equality, inclusion, non-discrimination, non-violence and non-heterosexism through training, policy development and social action
Gender DynamiX is an NPO that has an acute understanding of the diverse needs of the trans community in South Africa. Among its various objectives, it promotes and defends the rights of gender non-conforming people; provides training to build sensitivity towards trans individuals; and assists family, friends and colleagues of gender-diverse people with information and education about gender expression.
Iranti is an activist and media advocacy agency that defends the rights of lesbian, transgender (including gender non-conforming) and intersex persons in Africa. It also focuses on the use of strategic multimedia storytelling to reflect the lived experiences and landscape of LGBTQI+ individuals in Africa.
GALA is an organisation whose primary focus is to “preserve and nurture LGBTQI narratives” by producing, documenting and preserving the history, culture and experiences of gender non-conforming people in South Africa.
Additional source: Advance HE
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