Advancing Transgender Human Rights
Having been established in 2005, Gender DynamiX (GDX) is the first registered Africa-based public benefit organisation to focus solely on trans and gender diverse communities. What started as a mere vision, slowly grew into a grassroots organisation. GDX has since become an institutionalised non-profit organisation (NPO) that is fundamental to the development of the trans and gender diverse movement(s) in South Africa and across southern Africa.
Our key priority areas of work include:
Accessing Legal Gender Recognition
Gender DynamiX’s Executive Director, Liberty Matthyse, shares her experiences around accessing legal gender recognition in South Africa, and provides an outline of the recommendations made to government to improve policy and legislation for transgender, gender diverse and intersex persons.
EDUCATION
Emergent Protocol and Guideline Consultation
South Africa is generally perceived to be a country that has achieved equality, dignity and freedom for all, including persons of Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Expression and Sex Characteristics. As an organization our stance is that Queer dignity, equality and the embodiment of freedom remains directly connected to issues of race, gender, economic and social (in)justice.
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A.C.C.E.S.S. Granted
Lulu’s Story of Legal Gender Recognition,
A Story of Resilience
I started my trans journey officially in 2017. Eight years prior to that I was still thinking where and how does one start to and if this is the step I really want to take. In this time, I was doing research on the process however I didn’t find the information helpful until I met a friend. This friend was in the process of transitioning, and they explained to me how to go about it. When I reflected on what was shared with me in comparison with what I found I realised how challenging it is to access gender affirming services.
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Featured publication
IMPACT REPORT: COVID-19 Regional Response
The COVID-19 Pandemic compounded persistent inequalities and injustices experienced by trans and gender diverse people, their communities, organisations and network in countries across Southern Africa. There is growing evidence showing that the pandemic – and related lockdown regulations – is disproportionately and adversely affecting members of lesbian, gay, trans and intersex communities, including sex workers, whilst in many instances measures to respond to the pandemic maintain and exacerbate stigma, marginalisation and social exclusion. Countries in Southern Africa imposed ‘lockdown’ measures in varying degrees, ranging from restriction of movement and curfew to closure of ‘non-essential’ services and industries. As a result, many trans and gender diverse people lost their source of income, which in turn severely affected their food security, health and mental wellness, as well as access to resources and social protection systems to reduce the impact of the pandemic.
PRESS STATEMENT
SUPPORTING Trans and Gender Diverse REFUGEES: SOUTH AFRICA
A Collaborative Project
As Gender Dynamix and Lawyers for Human Rights, we are embarking on a project that seeks to dismantle the rampant discrimination against transgender and gender diverse migrants in the asylum seeker system in South Africa. Lawyers for Human Rights published a critical study that assessed the forced migration system from a trans and gender diverse perspective. Our collaborative endeavour will seek to legally represent trans and gender diverse migrants, and we hope to be able to engage in robust sensitivity training in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Police Service, as frontline staff.
“You don’t have to agree with me, but just respect me”
“Come As You Are™ speaks volumes for acceptance, for us to be who we want to be and to be accepted. You don’t have to agree with me, but just respect me. If we all offered respect to one another, the world would be a better place” - Manila Von Teez
PRESS STATEMENT
GENDER DIVERSITY COALITION
Call for Action after UCT VC’s Harmful Seminar on LGBTQA+ Community
The Gender Diversity Coalition is calling for urgent action in the wake of a harmful and hurtful public seminar hosted by UCT Vice-Chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng on social media platforms this weekend.
Research Report
Public Opinion of Transgender Rights in South Africa
South Africa was the first country to adopt a constitution that explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This report analyzes data collected in the 2017 Global Attitudes Toward Transgender People survey to examine public opinion of transgender rights and status in South Africa.
Press Release
Gender DynamiX Responds to the Miss South Africa Announcement on Transgender Participation
As an organisation advocating for the rights of transgender and gender diverse persons, Gender Dynamix recognises that the Miss South Africa pageant has a significant LGBTQI+ following. The inclusion of transgender women in Miss South Africa has recently been in the spotlight. We applaud the openly transgender women whose activism has led to greater inclusion in spaces such as Miss South Africa, as well as the contestants who are participating in the pageant in the spirit of further advancing the inclusion, recognition and understanding of transgender persons in public spaces.
What do you understand by the acronym LGBTQIA+? Well here you go… Lately we have been asked the meaning of some of the terminology used by the LGBTQIA+ Community.
Gender DynamiX has come up with a quick guide to LGBTQIA+ Terms. The terms and definitions used in the resource are always evolving and changing and often mean different things to different people. They are being provided as a starting point for discussion and understanding. This Glossary has been collectively built and created by the staff members of Gender DynamiX.
Regional Research Study
Countering Gender-Based Violence by defining Safety, Recognition, Access, and Social Equity for Trans and Gender Diverse Persons
This is why countering gender-based violence by defining safety, recognition, access, and social equity for trans and gender diverse persons research is important.
If you live in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Eswatini or Zambia and would like to take part in this study or know of someone who would, please get in contact with our researcher, Sondré Bailey at:
What Lesbian Looks Like
Lesbian Day of Visibility 2021
In support of Lesbian Day of Visibility, we sat down with Loren Loubser (aka Lekker Lollas) to get their perspective on what lesbian looks like in 2021.
Lesbian Visibility Week, leading up to Lesbian Day of Visibility, aims to show solidarity with all LGBTQI woman and non-binary people and to celebrate lesbians.
Thank you, Loren, for sharing your story with us.
Directed by Zoey Black.
Click below to read more
Gender DynamiX would like to introduce you to The
Wall of Resilience
This wall aims to create a way of telling stories that document our losses and our strengths.
The wall brings to life the lived experiences of members of the LGBTQIA+ community(s) digitally during the COVID 19 pandemic while simultaneously highlighting the resilience of marginalized communities who are further limited by inadequate resources and lack of access to services across Southern Africa.
The virtual wall is a tool that will be used to voice the inadequacies in the region on the basis of education, legal gender recognition and access to services, more so during the pandemic.
Furthermore, it is a way of ensuring that transgender and gender diverse persons are given a platform to get recognition for their courage and tenacity despite facing stigma, violence, discrimination and exclusion from basic services while challenging policies and laws that aim to impede on the dignity and human rights of Trans and Gender Diverse persons, hence the name Wall of Resilience.
To be featured on The Wall of Resilience please email us at:
Home Affairs considers scrapping male and female ID numbers
Gender Dynamix recently spoke to GroundUp about the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) Draft Official Identity Management Policy.
We welcome the human rights-approach which the DHA has taken in this Draft Policy, bringing their processes more in alignment with the values and rights enshrined in the Constitution, particularly the proposed mechanisms that speak to non-discrimination and privacy.
However, the policy still requires some work we will be making our formal submission to the DHA in due course.
CONSULTANCY
COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH FOR INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA AND BIPHOBIA
The International IDAHO Committee has been set up in 2005 to support mobilisation, networking and communication around the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, on May 17.
We are looking for a consultant to support the organisation in its work around the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2021.
Pocket Queerpedia launch
About Pocket Queerpedia
Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education is an organisation dedicated to resourcing and supporting activists towards their goals of equality, freedom, dignity and better futures.
The idea for this glossary was sparked by a moment in one of our offerings 'Feminism and Freedom' a course we hosted for young activists in 2019. While grappling with discussions on gender, sexuality and freedom, we ran into a number of difficulties. As with most of our courses, the participants in the room were quite diverse. Drawn from different communities, geographic locations and organisations. What we considered basic and familiar terms in queerness we thought all would know, left many participants utterly lost.
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FEATURED
Employment Opportunities
If you are trans and gender diverse identifying please email your CV to: humanresources@genderdynamix.org.za so that we can have you in our database for future employment opportunities.
We would also be able to link you with trans and gender diverse friendly employers.