For more information, counselling or to speak to someone confidentially, contact Love Not Hate, Triangle Project in Cape Town, OUT in Pretoria, the Gay & Lesbian Network in PMB, or the Durban Lesbian & Gay Community & Health Centre.

While June is Youth Month in South Africa, the challenges facing young LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning) people, including high rates of bullying and discrimination, are often overlooked over this period.

Our school days are a formative time that can have a major impact on our adult lives; affecting our sense of identity, self confidence and direction in life. That’s why it’s so troubling that many young LGBTQ people face extreme stress and rejection for simply being who they are.

In a 2016 national report, Love Not Hate (a national campaign targeting LGBTQ hate crimes) documented the disturbing scale of the abuse in South Africa. When people between the ages of 16 to 24 years were asked, more than half (56%) said they had experienced discrimination based on their LGBTQ status at school.

The situation in three provinces in particular stood out. An astonishing 79% of those surveyed in KwaZulu-Natal schools experienced discrimination, followed by the Eastern Cape (70%) and Western Cape (68%). Gay youth were the most affected, with 69% reporting discrimination. Not far behind were bisexual youth (60%). Read more via Mamba