South Africa IDAHO Report 2012

Activists based at the University of Witwatersrand have been mentoring young LGBT people in campaign-building around the issues that affect them. As a result, students put together a comprehensive campaign for IDAHO 2012 which included a silent protest at University Avenue, a flash mob and a panel discussion about campaign-building.

The students worked to raise awareness about homophobia and transphobia on campus, and to encourage LGBT students and those thought to be LGBT to report homophobic and transphobic abuse. They printed campaign T-shirts and called on lecturers to wear the shirts to class during IDAHO week to demonstrate their support.

Students at the University of Johannesburg launched the “Rights r Rights” Campaign on campus that sought to create visibility for LGBT students and to build awareness of the challenges they faced through silent marches at the university’s four campuses during IDAHO week and a seminar discussion on homophobic attacks at residences and on campus.
There was also “ambush theatre” action in Cape Town. However, the actors proved a little too convincing in portraying a gay man who was verbally and physically abused for being too feminine – a security guard intervened and detained three of the actors.
The performance was conceptualized by director Riaan Visman, who was approached by Rev. Laurie Guam from the Centre for Christian Spirituality, a gay-friendly church that stages events on social justice issues related to spirituality. They chose the medium of ambush theatre to engage the public because issues can be raised through performances.
Ambush, or invisible theatre, is a spontaneous performance that is staged in a public place and engages spectators, who then become spec-actors and change the flow of the performance.