Wits University Sogiesc Advocacy Programmes

The Safe Zones@Wits project was jointly conceptualised by the University of the Witwatersrand’s Transformation and Employment Equity Office (TEEO), Wits Pride 2011 and the Counselling and Careers Development Unit (CCDU) of the University of the Witwatersrand. The project is based on similar programmes currently running in the United States of America, most notably the Safe Zones project at the San

Diego State University. It is one of the Wits Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Advocacy Programmes, housed by TEEO. The key SOGI Advocacy Programmes are the four CATS focus areas:

C - Community & Connection: provision of the Queer Clothing and Binder Bank for transgender and/or homeless members of the university community. Ongoing referrals to the Wits Food Bank. Support groups hosted with partner offices and organisations. COVID-19 centric support through the Queer Social Justice Cohort Network. A - Advocacy: representation at University Forum meetings, examinable guest lectures, collaborative work with partner offices and organisations. Activations and close work with Wits Pride. Published collaboration on research with academics. Partnerships in implementation of gender-neutral toilets. Social media awareness initiatives to mark key international awareness days. Tailored SOGI Advocacy training external to the university. Engagement with the media. T - Tomorrow: engagement with applicants - Grade 11s and matriculants, collaboration with schools and queer student mentorship. Collaborative work with transgender youth. Workshops with student leaders and profiling key queer alumni. S - Safe Zones@Wits: ongoing ally and annual train-the-trainer trainings, upskilling of trainers, interventions, generation of anonymous statistics from consultation reports to DHET, debriefing of Safe Zones@Wits allies and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders via the quarterly Safe Zones Reference Group. Open source training material. What does an ally do? An ally is an easily identifiable individual who provides the Wits LGBTIAQ+ community with support and information. The stickers and badges handed to allies serve as a message that a specific individual has completed the Safe Zones @ Wits training, and that members of the campus community can speak freely with that individual about issues such as sexual orientation and gender identity. Safe Zones Allies are able to provide assistance, including referrals to relevant campus structures, and allies are also committed to challenge homophobic, transphobic, cissexist and heterosexist comments and behaviours. What is Safe Zones training? Safe Zones training explores LGBTIAQ+ issues in an honest and open way, and provides participants with an opportunity to explore the concept of an LGBTIAQ+ ally and the commitments an LGBTIAQ+ ally makes. Safe Zones training will interrogate commonly held myths and misconceptions about LGBTIAQ+ communities and explore and challenge commonly held beliefs about the LGBTIAQ+ community. In order to become an ally, members of the Wits community must complete two phases of training, totalling 6 hours, which is inclusive of an introduction to LGBTIAQ+ identities and basic support and referral skills. Contact Programme Coordinator Mx Tish Morpheus Geddes ([email protected] / 011 717 9154/1456) for more information or if you are interested in joining us. We can also facilitate group training in faculties or units if the need arises as well as training external to our university in other institutes of higher learning, schools, hospitals, corporates and other spaces.