All Western Cape residents have a responsibility to help create a more tolerant society, the African National Congress in the province said on Sunday.

The ANC in the Western Cape was shocked by the conclusions of the research initiative of the Love Not Hate Campaign, conducted by OUT LGBT Well-being, that measured the levels of discrimination among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in South Africa, ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said in a statement.

According to the report released this week, the Western Cape had the highest level of “outness”, but was also the province where people who associated as LGBT were most likely to experience discrimination, most particularly in the education sector that accounted for 68 percent of the discrimination they experienced.

More than half of the Western Cape participants (52 percent) experienced discrimination during the past two years. Verbal insults made up 47 percent while 24 percent had been threatened with physical violence, 16 percent had been chased or followed, and 10 percent had objects thrown at them.

“Of extreme concern is the fact that an alarming nine percent of the Western Cape respondents claim to have been punched, hit, kicked, or beaten, and a worrying six percent have been sexually abused or raped.

“We all have a responsibility to create a more tolerant society and we have an added responsibility to, not only during the 16 Days of Activism Against the Abuse of Women and Children, protect those who are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of sexual identification,” Jacobs said.

The ANC in the Western Cape called on the Western Cape education department to urgently formulate a protection strategy that would ensure greater protections for pupils who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual.

“let’s create awareness, lets mobilise, and let’s ensure we support and actively build more empowered and tolerant communities,” Jacobs said.

– African News Agency (ANA)