Developing an affirmative position statement on sexual and gender diversity for psychology professionals in South Africa

Victor, Cornelius J.; Nel, Juan A.

doi:10.11621/pir.2017.0206

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As per PsySSA’s constitution, the society thus demonstrated a commitment from the outset to the human rights of all (PsySSA, 2017a). Shaped by the progressive cultural, legal, and political trends valuing equality and nondiscrimination, within a democratic postapartheid South Africa, more broadly, there was no overt resistance within PsySSA to embark on this road (Victor & Nel, 2017).…”

Section: Trajectories Of Lgbti Psychology Development: Case Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On meeting PsySSA requirements for formalizing to attain divisional status, the founding members decided on naming the division, launched in 2014, the Sexuality and Gender Division (SGD). Reasons included the importance in South Africa of mainstreaming LGBTI matters in sexuality and gender-related scholarship as well as economies of scale—the discipline of psychology in South Africa is simply too small to justify the formation of a LGBTI-specific division or provide for separate publication avenues (Victor & Nel, 2017). However, framing the work of this PsySSA structure in terms of sexuality and gender was primarily in recognition of the multiple developmental pathways to self-identification as sexually and gender diverse, inclusive of LGBTI.…”

Section: Trajectories Of Lgbti Psychology Development: Case Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Emergence of a transnational LGBTI psychology: Commonalities and challenges in advocacy and activism.

Horne¹,

Maroney²,

Nel³

et al. 2019

American Psychologist

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This contribution explores the historical developments of transnational lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) psychology in Colombia, the Philippines, Russia, and South Africa in relationship to U.S. LGBT psychology. LGBTI psychology in these diverse contexts share commonalities but also have important variations in their development and focus within LGBTI concerns. The International Psychology Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Issues (IPsyNet) provides a model for international professional psychology collaboration and linkage on behalf of advocacy for LGBTI rights and sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression concerns. Although there is the risk of transnational LGBTI psychology(ies) reproducing European-North American (Euro-N.A.) "homonationalism" and contributing to neocolonization, these case examples illustrate the dynamic potential of transnational LGBTI psychology, including the possibilities of psychology to develop LGBTI psychologies drawing from indigenous as well as international structures and platforms, influencing Euro-N.A. models in the process. Finally, this article describes the promise and the limitations of transnational LGBTI psychology, including the role of human rights frameworks, as well as advocacy within professional psychology.

show abstract

Section: Trajectories Of Lgbti Psychology Development: Case Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Trajectories Of Lgbti Psychology Development: Case Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergence of a transnational LGBTI psychology: Commonalities and challenges in advocacy and activism.

Horne¹,

Maroney²,

Nel³

et al. 2019

American Psychologist

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although primarily aimed at South African qualified professionals, as with the sexual and gender diversity position statement, its applicability may be broader, namely in areas outside South Africa, as well as other health professions, including social workers. Potentially, collaboration with colleagues from other African countries can be initiated to develop their own localised statements and guidelines (Victor & Nel, 2017).…”

Section: Conclusion and Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychological Society of South Africa’s guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people: towards inclusive and affirmative practice

Chris

McLachlan

Nel

et al. 2019

South African Journal of Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article, we outline the practice guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people, ratified by the Psychological Society of South Africa’s Council in 2017. The guidelines are an augmentation of the Psychological Society of South Africa’s position statement of 2013 providing a framework for understanding the challenges that sexually and gender-diverse people face in patriarchal and hetero- and cis-normative societies. An affirmative stance towards sexual and gender diversity enables psychology practitioners to work ethically, effectively, and sensitively in this field. The guidelines – a first for Africa – are aspirational in nature and call on psychology professionals to become aware of their own biases, conscientise themselves of the best practices in the field by continued professional development, and to utilise the guidelines as a resource in their related work. Brief mention is made of the development process, before the rationale and possible applications of the 12 guidelines are explored.

show abstract

“…This resulted in the use of the broader, inclusive term of sexual and gender diversity rather than the more essentialist framing of LGBTI , which, in turn, led to using nonessentialist language to avoid forms of othering or exclusion and an emphasis on contextual awareness. The latter meant that the work had to be grounded in the small but growing body of local knowledge that was available (see Victor & Nel, 2017, for a detailed discussion of the development process).…”

Section: Psyssa African Lgbti+ Human Rights Projectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Queering the history of South African psychology: From apartheid to LGBTI+ affirmative practices.

Pillay¹,

Nel

Chris

et al. 2019

American Psychologist

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article constructs a brief history of how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues have intersected with South African psychology at key sociopolitical moments, filling a gap in current histories. Organized psychology-a primary focus of this analysis-since its first formations in 1948, mostly colluded with apartheid governments by othering queerness as psychopathology or social deviance. The National Party, both homophobic and racist, ruled the country from 1948 until the first democratic elections in 1994. The acceleration of antiapartheid struggles in the 1980s saw progressive psychologists develop more critical forms of theory and practice. However, LGBTIϩ issues remained overshadowed by the primary struggle for racial equality and democracy. Psychology's chameleon-like adaptation to evolving eras resulted in a unified organization when apartheid ended: the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA). Democratic South Africa's Constitution took the bold step of protecting sexuality as a fundamental human right, galvanizing a fresh wave of LGBTIϩ scholarship post-1994. However, LGBTIϩ people still suffered prejudice, discrimination, and violence. Additionally, psychology training continued to ignore sexual orientation and gender-affirmative health care in curricula. PsySSA therefore joined the International Psychology Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Issues (IPsyNet) in 2007, catalyzing the PsySSA African LGBTIϩ Human Rights Project in 2012 and two pioneering publications: a position statement on affirmative practice in 2013, and practice guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people in 2017. This article traces a neglected history of South African psychology, examining the political, social, and institutional factors that eventually enabled the development of LGBTIϩ affirmative psychologies. Public Significance StatementThis article traces the impact and history of apartheid on LGBTIϩ rights and research in South African psychology, and focuses on how postapartheid, organized psychology made it possible for the eventual development of Africa's first practice guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people.

show abstract

Developing an affirmative position statement on sexual and gender diversity for psychology professionals in South Africa

Cited by 6 publications

References 12 publications

Emergence of a transnational LGBTI psychology: Commonalities and challenges in advocacy and activism.

Emergence of a transnational LGBTI psychology: Commonalities and challenges in advocacy and activism.

The Psychological Society of South Africa’s guidelines for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people: towards inclusive and affirmative practice

Queering the history of South African psychology: From apartheid to LGBTI+ affirmative practices.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About