There is an almost complete lack of literature on the needs of – and care services for – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) elders in South Africa and across the African continent. As a result, with the exception of Henderson and Almack (2016), we present here some of the first writings on this topic in South Africa informed by the literature base that exists in relation to our knowledge of elder populations more generally in the region. Taking a social justice-oriented and intersectional lens, we approach this study from an African standpoint by engaging African epistemologies and ontologies in relation to old age, death and sexuality. We also engage the intricate interplay of race, class, urban/rural realities and the apartheid legacy as they intersect with the lives of LGBTI elders. We conclude the chapter by proposing an Africa-centred and culturally sensitive model of care for LGBTI elders. We purposefully use the term ‘elders’ to reference the historic respect given to older people across the African continent and so as to situate this study within the Southern African context.

We begin by providing some relevant contextual information on South African realities before engaging with the research on ageing in South Africa and across the continent before looking at the very limited research and writing to date on the lives of LGBTI elders in South Africa. We then present as a case study an interview we conducted with an older, lesbian married couple about their experiences and perspectives on queer ageing in South Africa. We conclude by proposing an African, community- and home-based model of care for older people, including LGBTI elders, informed by contextual realities and African ontologies.

South African realities

South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world that is often lauded globally as exemplary in terms of its focus on inclusion and tolerance (Woolman, 2015). The protections afforded by the Bill of Rights include a number of specifically enumerated categories including age, gender and sexual orientation and Section 9 of the Constitution states that neither the state nor anyone may ‘… unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth’ (Bill of Rights, RSA 1996).

Southeast Asia witnesses a number of natural disasters and did so throughout 2010, highlighting variable levels of national preparedness in dealing with disasters and illustrating the need for greater regional cooperation. This chapter looks at how governments in this disaster-prone region respond to the impact of these large scale events.

WHAT ARE NATURAL DISASTERS?

The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) defines a disaster as “a situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to a national or international level for external assistance; an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering”. For a disaster to be entered into its Emergency Events Database or EM-DAT, at least one of the following criteria must be fulfilled: 10 or more people reported killed; 100 or more people reported affected; declaration of a state of emergency; and calls for international assistance.

The EM-DAT distinguishes two generic categories for disasters: natural and technological. The natural disaster category was further divided into five sub-groups, which in turn cover twelve disaster types and more than thirty sub-types, as can be found on Table 5.1.

As in previous years, in 2008 Asia remained the most affected continent by natural disasters. The region accounted for 40 per cent of all reported natural disasters and more than 80 per cent of all reported victims. Economic damage costs in Asia almost doubled from 34 per cent in the period 2000–07 to 62 per cent in 2008. Looking at the patterns of natural disaster in Asia, one can observed all types of natural disasters. This is particularly true in Southeast Asia. The most common forms of natural disasters in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam for the period 1900 to 2009 are:

Indonesia : Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, droughts, storms, epidemics and wildfires.

Philippines : Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, droughts and storms.

Vietnam : Floods, droughts, storms and epidemics.

Cambodia : Floods, droughts, storms and epidemics.