South Africa

Victory Institute and Triangle Project began partnering in 2016 to ensure the promise of South Africa’s legal protection for LGBTI persons is fulfilled.

Victory Institute and LGBTI human rights organization Triangle Project began partnering in 2016 to ensure legal protection for LGBTI people in South Africa is maintained. LGBTI people in South Africa remain underrepresented in the political arena and continue to face extreme forms of violence, which some data and anecdotal experience suggest is critically under-reported.

Throughout 2017, Victory Institute and Triangle Project worked with openly LGBTI persons to strengthen political participation through training and capacity building. The timing of the project, which began right after the September 2016 elections, served to encourage the newly elected government to ensure that the rights of LGBTI people are upheld.

Successes in South Africa

We held a Civil Society Forum in November 2016 that attended by LGBTI leaders and elected officials, including Zakhele Mbhele, the first and only openly gay Black member of Parliament. Three panels at the forum were on the topics of: the importance of cooperation among civil society and politicians, the role of allies, and the value of representation.

In-Country Partner