Riette Carter lost her son, who was gay, just before his 30th birthday in 2014.

Carter shared her experience at a workshop focusing on the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered and Intersexed (LGBTI) learners in Polokwane.

It was organised by the South African Human Rights Commission.

Carter says her son went through a lot of discrimination, especially at school.

“At the age of 12, going into puberty he realised and at that stage he was with a terrible stage of depression and anxiety and we immediately took him for counselling which helped him a lot. But he always struggled and before his 30th birthday he committed suicide. There is such a need for the public and the education system to all be educated. It could save a life.”

The South African Principals' Association in Limpopo says the workshop is a step in the right direction.

The workshop brought together government officials, church leaders, police and LGBTI activists under the same roof.

Moloko Rakgole from the Principals' Association admits that there is still a lot of un-acceptance of the LGBTI community at schools.

“If this type of a meeting didn't come and somebody comes to my school in a way to talk about the gender thing, I would just throw and kick him out as my thinking and my understanding was not on this matter as it is now. It is very very important that our teachers and our principals and anyone working in the department would be capacitated to understand exactly what all these people go through. It is of course of vital importance that we treat these people with equality.”

The commission hopes to conduct the workshops in other areas in order to reach more people, including learners.

Source: SABC