Heteronormative higher education: challenging this status quo through LGBTIQ awareness-raising

This article focus on the challenges homophobia and transphobia pose to LGBTIQ students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), a historically black peri-urban university located on the margins of Cape Town. Both the geographical location as well as the internal environment of the university give rise to various challenges for LGBTIQ identifying, and particularly gender non-conforming, students around their sexual freedom and self-affirmation. In transcending the vacuum between the challenges faced by these students and the existing human rights discourse on non-normative sexual orientations and gender identities, the Gender Equity Unit, through its student-driven LGBTIQ programme LoudEnuf, its support staff and in collaboration with the student structure GaylaUWC has been educating and sensitising the campus community through its intersectional awareness-raising initiatives. This article focuses on the effectiveness of awareness-raising in creating a welcoming, comfortable, liberating and safe campus for LGBTIQ students to access comprehensive quality education

The right to remain married : positioning homosexual-transsexual marriages under the South African Marriage Act 25 of 1961

Magister Legum - LLMFor many, the human rights which South Africa has been able to secure for LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people has been very progressive. However, with the conflation of sexual orientation and gender identity, the assumption of access to human rights for all within the LGBTI and society at large, has led to transsexual people not being able to claim their rights and assert their existence as human beings effectively within our constitutional democracy. Currently, there is a vacuum in South Africa's law of marriage based on its inability to accommodate spouses who married as a 'heterosexual' couple but where the one spouse subsequently undergoes gender affirmation, conforming the relationship to what is perceived as 'homosexual'. On account of this, the Department of Home Affairs are subjecting these couples to compulsory or forced divorces by refusing to have the transsexual spouse recognised within his or her affirmed gender on the marriage certificate. This means that the transsexual spouse either remains married under the Marriage Act and is subject to being recognised as his or her birth-sex, or submits to a compulsory or forced divorce in order to be recognised as his or her affirmed sex on a marriage certificate issued under the Civil Union Act upon them 'remarrying'. This thesis addresses the inequalities and inequities brought about by the Marriage Act. It investigates the history of marriages within South Africa that were prohibited based on characteristics such as race which people have no control over. It looks at how the State, through its departments, has imposed itself on the social relationships people formed subject to its legal terms and conditions. This thesis questions whether the State through its action is acting in a way that is administratively just. It argues that the successfulness of a divorce decree is dependent on at least one party voluntary applying for it. This presupposes the idea that whenever couples who are validly married are forced or compelled to divorce one another that this, in fact, cannot be seen as one of the valid ways in which to obtain a divorce decree legally. Before venturing into the legal aspect concerning this research topic, a theoretical framework will be advanced to position these couples in a greater social context. Subsequently, in order to establish the legal position of these couples, this thesis will draw on the current South African human rights discourse that has been developed by and for the LGBTI community, especially as it relates to the law of marriage. It will also establish the international and foreign human rights discourses that assert or, at least, seek to assert LGBTI human rights broadly. Ultimately, a constitutional analysis will be conducted to establish the position of these couples under the Marriage Act

Transcending the Gender Binary under International Law: Advancing Health-Related Human Rights for Trans* Populations

Despite a recent wave in global recognition of the rights of transgender and gender-diverse populations, referred to in this text by the umbrella label of trans*, international law continues to presume a cisgender binary definition of gender - dismissing the lived realities of trans* individuals throughout the world. This gap in international legal recognition and protection has fundamental implications for health, where trans* persons have been and continue to be subjected to widespread discrimination in health care, longstanding neglect of health needs, and significant violations of bodily autonomy.Fil: O'Connor, Aoife. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Seunik, Maximillian. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Radi, Blas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas. - Sociedad Argentina de Análisis Filosófico. Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas; ArgentinaFil: Matthyse, Liberty. No especifíca;Fil: Gable, Lance. Wayne State University Law School; Estados UnidosFil: Huffstetler, Hanna. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Mason Meier, Benjamin. University of North Carolina; Estados Unido

Constraints facing SMEs in the pursuit of job creation : the case of the Cape Metropolis clothing industry

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018The objective of the study was to determine the constraints that SMEs face in the Cape Metropolis Clothing Industry and what owners and managers within the Clothing Industry believe is required to revitalise the industry. SMEs, particularly within the Clothing Industry in the Cape Metropolis, have a vital role to play, in stimulating economic activity, poverty alleviation and raising living standards, which has been widely recognised in most countries. The high level of failure in this regard can be attributed to various reasons, among these being a lack of financial support, training, bottle necks and red tape. In order to obtain information about SMEs in the clothing industry of SMEs within the Cape Metropolis, a mixed method approach was used, both explorative and descriptive and quantitative in nature. A self-developed questionnaire was used to answer multiple choice, dichotomous type, self-assessment type and measure based questions which deal with the state of the clothing industry in the Western Cape, as well as face to face interviews by using the questionnaire as a template. Generally, the findings reveal numerous constraints, the clothing industry in the Cape Metropolis faces, including government assistance, lack of financing, a skilled workforce and cheap imports and buying power of retailers. The opinions of owners and managers in the industry are essential for government and policy makers. Issues that are highlighted include restrictive labour laws, local sourcing and changing customer behaviour and greater demand for their products. Owners and managers should adopt various strategies to remain competitive and to ensure that they remain profitable. Government support and purpose directed policies and programmes are essential for the sector’s survival. The recommendations could lead to better government interventions, and rigorous import controls. This study recommends better coordination between government agencies, interventions, and for owners and managers within the clothing industry as well as retailers and local consumers to revitalise the clothing industry in the Western Cape. However, innovation is essential for the clothing industry to be able to respond effectively to the changing environment which is triggered by globalisation forces. The industry faces a number of challenges. These were considered in the study and recommendations were made to provide guidelines to both government and the industry in order to improve business operations and increase employment