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 :

• Non-academic matters should be raised via the Student Representative Council (SRC) or through the relevant managers in the Office of the Director: Student Affairs and/or the Office of the Director: Residences and Student Accommodation.
• If a matter has not been resolved timeously, appropriately or definitively, the matter must be escalated to the relevant Director.
• If a matter has still not been resolved, it must be escalated to the Vice-Principal: Student Affairs.
• Escalation to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal should take place only as a last resort.
• The decision of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal is final.

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:

• Student Counselling Unit
• UP and Out (the University’s queer student organisation)
• Student Representative Council (SRC)
• CSA&G
• Transformation Office
• #SpeakOutUP 

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:

• assist students in understanding the University’s Anti-discrimination Policy; 
• advocate for students’ rights to non-discrimination and equality within the classroom and campus environment; and
• direct students to resources in order to facilitate their social and/or medical transition in the campus environment in terms of the Trans Protocol. 

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.