A Meeting of Queer Minds

This 86-page report, published by The Atlantic Philanthropies, covers the exchange, key learnings, and recommendations of leaders and activists from Irish and South African organisations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people at a retreat near Cape Town in March 2010. At the retreat, participants were given an opportunity to reflect on LGBTI activism in the two countries over the last 15 years. In particular, the retreat looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies pursued; what has been achieved; and what challenges remain. The report seeks to serve as a resource for organisations and groups thinking through strategies for social justice.<br><br>

According to the report, there was a general recognition that race, gender, ethnicity, economic status, and imposed discourses around the gender binary of male and female are important social forces in the LGBTI sector. At the same time, from an organisation’s point of view, individuals often engage in LGBTI activism for a short time or erratically. This compromises the community, as continuity is important for building new leadership and maintaining institutional memory.<br><br>

The report states that there are also unspoken issues in the community that are not being addressed, such as domestic violence in LGBTI relationships, substance abuse, the lack of visibility of transgender and gender issues, the neglect of the needs of older LGBTIs, and a lack of organising among young people. According to the report, developing the next generation of leaders is an important element in the sustainability of the community. It was also found that activism and community work happen mainly in the cities in both Ireland and South Africa, and rural areas tend to be ignored or under-resourced.<br><br>

In terms of advocacy and citizenship, the report states that advocating for the full citizenships of LGBTIs in the community should not promote the notion of special rights for LGBTIs. Struggles for the human rights of LGBTIs should be located in the broader struggle for human rights behind the banner that human rights are indivisible and all citizens are equal. These principles should inform how LGBTI activists engage with the state, form alliances with other struggles, and work in communities. Activism needs to be multifaceted and include strengthening individual LGBTI organisations; working with the state to change discriminatory policies and laws; changing public attitudes, especially among young people; and linking up with other struggles for human rights.<br><br>

The report talks about mainstreaming, normalising, and coalition-building around other human rights struggles, saying that LGBTIs should join other vulnerable groups and support other civil society organisations. At the same time, when LGBTIs are active in other struggles they often do not "come out" and opportunities are lost to build support for LGBTIs. However, as stated in the report, before looking at how LGBTIs might build alliances with other sectors, LGBTI organisations need first to take a critical look at the lack of cohesion in the organised LGBTI community. Other suggested ways that LGBTI organisations can establish partnerships and build alliances is to initiate campaigns that have broader resonance and can attract allies.<br><br>

International solidarity is also important, but should not be paternalistic. The report states that northern organisations need to be careful not to be seen to be taking over an agenda or subsuming the dialogue between Southern organisations. International partners can cause damage if they do not understand the local context.  As stated in the report, solidarity is best built over time and through doing (programmatically), and there must be a genuine and agreed desire to work together.<br><br>

A key challenge facing the LGBTI movement in both South Africa and Ireland is to persuade the state that LGBTIs have specific health and other service needs. The state's resistance to providing LGBTI services is often due to a lack of awareness about LGBTI issues among government employees. Education and training may be helpful and LGBTI organisations are well placed to provide this training.