Afterword

We discuss Sex, Sexuality and Sexual Health in Southern Africa’s achievements in the context of ongoing debates, new research and revelations from elsewhere on the continent south of the Sahara, and by bringing in an eye to recent developments in the sphere of the arts and humanities. We argue that significant progress has been made in struggles for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) rights and health, and hence to the rights and health of all. The risks of populist backlash, however, and of the wider surge of gender-based violence that may be linked to the COVID-19 lockdowns and associated mental and economic health stresses, remain high. This book is thus a most welcome contribution to the scholarship that aims both to reduce those risks and to raise awareness of Southern Africa’s place in global struggles for the same.