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07 March 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
CGAS staff with Jessica Lynn
From left: Ankia Bradfield, Sihle Salman, Jessica Lynn, Dr Nadine Lake, programme director, Gender Studies, and Dr Stephanie Cawood, director of CGAS after the talk.

For Jessica Lynn, a transgender activist, referencing the Butterfly to tell her journey, is the perfect metaphor to raise awareness of transgender issues. The Centre for Gender and Africa studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted Lynn at a seminar titled, The Butterfly Project.

The CGAS invited Lynn in an effort to educate and inform students of her own experience as a parent living as a transgender woman. She is a global ambassador at the Kinsey Institute.

Coping mechanisms to escape reality

Born Jeffery Alan Butterworth in 1965, Lynn has become a world-renowned, dynamic and hard-hitting transgender activist. Lynn started her seminar off with: “Who here knows someone that is part of the transgender community?” It was evident that not many people know someone who is transgender. “In the United States only 16% of the population knows someone who is transgender,” she said.

“Everybody has their own story, just like I am only one of the 1.4 million transgender stories in the United States (US).” As a child of English immigrants to the US she was raised as a boy. “At a very young age I wanted to be girl,” she says, “but in 1969 it was not something that was spoken about..”

She started doing photography, painting and sports to stop the feelings she had to become a girl. She became obsessed with painting. “When I am painting that eagle I became that eagle in order to escape my reality.” She came out to her children as transgender during December 2009. She fully transitioned in 2010.

Lynn is the mother of three boys and was married to their biological mother. A botched Texas court restricted her access to her youngest child and to this day she has not been able to see her son.

Transgender discussions on rise in South Africa

“Transgender discussions have been less salient than conversations around homosexuality in South Africa,” said Dr Nadine Lake, programme director for Gender Studies at the UFS.  “But it is clear that raising awareness around transgender issues is starting to take more ground.”

Transgender identity and trans-body rights emerged during the #RhodesMustFall movement in 2015. “It was university students that were primarily driving the transformation agenda,” said Dr Lake.

The seminar on 20 February 2019 was an emotional, explosive and honest narrative of Jessica Lynn cocooning from Jeffrey Alan Butterworth to the phenomenal women she is today.

 

News Archive

UFS staff get salary increase of at least 7,25%
2007-11-20

 

During the signing of the UFS's salary agreement were, from the left: Mr Olehile Moeng (Chairperson of NEHAWU), Prof. Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS), and Prof. Johan Grobbelaar (Chairperson of UVPERSU and spokesperson of the Joint Union Forum).
 

UFS staff get salary increase of at least 7,25%

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) management and trade unions have agreed on an increase of 9,32% in the service benefits of staff for 2008. This includes a general minimum salary increase of 7,25%.

A once-off non-pensionable bonus of R3 000 will be paid in December 2007.

The agreement was signed today by representatives of the UFS management and the trade unions, UVPERSU and NEHAWU.

“As the state subsidy level is unfortunately not yet known, remuneration could vary several percentage points between a window of 7,25 and 8,39%,” said Prof. Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Should the government subsidy be such that the increase falls outside the window of 8,39%, the parties will negotiate again.

The bonus will be paid to staff members who were employed by the UFS on UFS conditions of service on 14 November 2007 and who assumed duties before 1 October 2007.

The bonus is payable in December 2007 in recognition of the role played by staff during the year to promote the UFS as a university of excellence and as confirmation of the role and effectiveness of the remuneration model.

“It is important to note that this bonus can be paid due to the favourable financial outcome of 2007,” said Prof. Fourie.

“Our intention is to pass the maximum benefit possible on to staff without exceeding the limits of financial sustainability of the institution.  For this reason, the negotiating parties reaffirmed their commitment to the Multiple-year Income-related Remuneration Improvement Model used as a framework for negotiations.  The model and its applications are unique and has as a point of departure that the UFS must be and remain financially sustainable,” said Prof. Fourie and Prof. Johan Grobbelaar, Chairperson of UVPERSU and Spokesperson of the Joint Union Forum.

The agreement provides for the phasing in of fringe benefits of contract appointments for 2008.  This includes the implementation of a pension/provident fund, housing allowance and the medical fund allowance as from 1 January 2008 to staff who are appointed on a contract basis.

Agreement was also reached that 1,0% will be allocated for structural adjustments in order to partially address the backlog in respect of remuneration packages of other higher education institutions.  These adjustments will be made after further investigations during 2008. 

The post levels that have been earmarked for adjustment are academic staff (associate professor, professor and dean) as well as certain post levels in the support services.

An additional R500 000 will be allocated to accelerate the rate of phasing in the medical fund allowances. 

The implementation date for the salary adjustments is 1 January 2008, but could possibly be implemented only at a later stage due to logistical reasons.   The adjustment will be calculated on the remuneration package.

The agreement also applies to all staff members of the Vista and Qwaqwa Campuses whose conditions of employment have already been aligned with those of the Main Campus.

Prof. Grobbelaar said that salary negotiations were never easy, but the model is an important tool.  He said the Joint Union Forum illustrates that people from different groups can work together if they share the same commitment and goal.

In 2007, a total salary adjustment of 5,7% and a once-off non-pensionable bonus of R2 000 was paid to staff.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison  
Tel:  051 401 2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
20 November 2007

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