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Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Cancer in South Africa

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LGBT Populations and Cancer in the Global Context

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Abstract

In this chapter, I provide an overview of the sociolegal context of LGBT individuals in South Africa, the South African healthcare system and the epidemiology and treatment of cancer in the country. I analyse the health and lived experiences of LGBT people in South Africa against the inequality of South Africa’s healthcare system. I argue that whilst there are no specific data on cancer among LGBT South Africans, we can surmise that SOGI-related marginalisation increases cancer risk factors and exacerbates existing inequality in access to cancer treatment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term ‘black’ includes all South Africans who were classified as ‘non-white’ under apartheid. It continues to be used today to document persisting racialised inequality as a result of historical and contemporary structural, institutional and interpersonal racism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gender Health and Justice Research Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Alex Müller

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  1. Alex Müller
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Correspondence to Alex Müller .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Ulrike Boehmer

  2. Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences, Dortmund, Germany

    Gabriele Dennert

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Müller, A. (2022). Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Cancer in South Africa. In: Boehmer, U., Dennert, G. (eds) LGBT Populations and Cancer in the Global Context. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06585-9_4

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