Who Are We

Transgender and Intersex Africa (TIA) is an organisation founded in 2010 by African transgender individuals to focus on transgender and intersex issues in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa, such as townships and rural areas, and is formally registered with the Department of Social Development as a Non-Profit Organisation.

TIA’s aim is to break the silence and stop the ignorance surrounding the existence of the black transgender and intersex community in South Africa in African communities and bring knowledge of applicable terminologies and a better understanding of transgenderism and intersexuality, while respecting, increasing, and acknowledging indigenous African knowledge of transgender and intersex identity, in order to reduce discrimination and intolerance of transgender, gender non-conforming and intersex individuals in black communities.

 

Transgender and Intersex Africa strives to support transgender and intersex individuals through providing safe spaces for them. We strive to raise awareness through education and training to the transgender and intersex community, their families and general society, keeping in mind the languages and cultural contexts of the black communities which we serve.

TIA also recognises the multitude of challenges that black transgender and intersex people have in accessing medical assistance in South Africa, largely due to their reliance on the public health care system, and the scarcity of government institutions that are equipped to handle such issues, or their reluctance to do so. TIA aims to hold these institutions accountable, and ensure that they provide health care services to all individuals, without discrimination, and uphold the rights of citizens as enshrined in the constitution. We also endeavour to work with organisations with similar goals in order to make a more significant impact in terms of trans and intersex issues in the country and on continent as a whole.