Sexual and Reproductive Health needs Of LGBT : commentary

The Constitution of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996 prohibits any South African to be discriminated on the grounds of sexual orientation. Recent evidences suggest that, the risk of acquiring HIV is higher in homosexuals than in people who engage in heterosexual sex in countries like South Africa with high epidemic. Currently, very little is known about the epidemic amongst Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in the country and there is little advocacy towards the group's inclusion in HIV and STI prevention programmes. This report focuses on the sexual and reproductive health needs of LGBT people. LGBT people are sexual minority group which includes: men who sleep with men, women who sleep with women, men or women who sleep with both sexes, as well as people who self-identify themselves as their opposite sex although their genitals show otherwise. The main sexual and reproductive health needs of LGBT in South Africa are summarised in the table below: See Table 1