Image: Supplied

The University of the Western Cape's (UWC) staff-led forum, Queer Dubs, has welcomed the findings of a new national study by The Other Foundation. The research shows a growing acceptance of LGBTI people in South Africa, while warning that stigma, discrimination and exclusion remain part of many people's lived experiences.

The report, Admission Reserved: How South Africans View LGBTI People Today – A Decade of Change Revealed, was commissioned by The Other Foundation and conducted through the Human Sciences Research Council's South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS). Drawing on responses from 3,285 South Africans collected between November 2025 and February 2026, the study tracks changing attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people over the past decade.

The findings show significant shifts in public attitudes. 

• In 2025, 46% of South Africans said their views towards LGBTI people had become more accepting over the previous five years, while only 11% reported becoming less accepting.
• The proportion of South Africans who believe same-sex relations are "always wrong" has declined from 66% in 2015 to 52% in 2025. 
• Support for equal rights has also grown, with 60% of respondents agreeing that lesbian and gay people deserve the same rights as everyone else.
• Nearly seven in 10 South Africans know a gay man, while 63% know a lesbian woman.
• 39% have at least one friend or family member who identifies as LGBTI. Researchers found that people with LGBTI family members and friends were more likely to support inclusion, equality and dignity.

Image: Supplied

Image: Supplied

Image: Supplied

Despite these gains, the report highlights ongoing challenges. Around half of South Africans believe LGBTI people do not face violence or harassment in their communities, despite evidence that many continue to experience discrimination.

The study estimates that approximately 1.13 million South Africans have physically harmed or harassed someone because they were lesbian, gay, or bisexual, while an estimated 870,000 have harmed or harassed a transgender person.

Queer Dubs Chairperson, Dr Lwando Scott, said: “Simon Nkoli once said that ‘we must be visible if we are to be liberated.’ This remains true and an important feature of LGBTI struggles. This research demonstrates that people who have family members, friends and co-workers who are part of the LGBTI community are less likely to harm LGBTI people, and more inclined to support initiatives that are geared towards inclusion, equality and dignity. This means that we must continue with activism and academic work that shows how LGBTI people are part of South Africa, indeed Africa. We must continue working to ensure that LGBTI freedoms must be linked to other ideas of freedom in the continued transformation of South Africa into a true democracy that not only understands difference but celebrates it.”

According to the report, progress towards equality is increasingly being negotiated within families, communities, cultural spaces and faith settings. It concludes that while constitutional protections remain important, acceptance is most often shaped through everyday relationships and social networks.

Queer Dubs supports research initiatives that deepen understanding of inclusion, belonging and social justice. The forum believes evidence-based conversations, such as those generated through Admission Reserved, are essential in helping institutions, communities and society move closer to making equality a lived reality for all South Africans.