Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community reacted with shock after a Durban University of Technology (DUT) student attempted to commit suicide because he was bullied over his sexuality.
The incident happened in a DUT student residence recently. It is alleged that the student, whose name has been withheld, was mocked by his roommates for being open about his homosexuality.
As a result, he attempted to jump from the building.
He survived and was admitted to Addington Hospital. It is reported that the student told his roommate about his homosexuality, who then told others.
Two days later, he began to receive threats and insults from other students. According to a Daily News source, the victim then called his aunt telling her that he was being bullied and receiving death threats. Before his aunt could intervene and travel to the campus, he tried to take his life.
The victim’s mother was contacted but she did not want to comment.
The director of KZN LGBTQ Recreation, Hlengiwe Buthelezi, said it was shocking and disturbing to hear such news after so much effort had been made to counsel students involved in fighting bullying, especially in schools.
“This is shocking and very disturbing. After the amount of work we have put in, do we still get such stories? I am so disappointed, and we will make sure that whoever is responsible is held accountable, including the DUT authorities. This is not allowed at all. Everyone can be anything that he/she wants,” said Buthelezi.
Cookie Edwards, an activist for women’s rights and executive director of the KZN Network on Violence Against Women, wants justice for the victim.
“No one should be bullied in any way. This case is new to me and I am so shocked. We will reach out to the victim and give him our support. This is why we find many gay people don’t want to come out, because they fear being attacked. Whoever was bullying him must definitely be arrested,” said Edwards.
DUT spokesperson Noxolo Memela confirmed the incident and stated that there was an ongoing internal investigation.
“The university can confirm that an incident of self-harm was reported by the residence advisor on Monday, April 17. At the moment the cause of the incident is unknown, and the student housing and residence life unit at DUT is still conducting internal investigations.
“The necessary action will be taken once the investigations have been concluded,” said Memela.
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