The radio story explores how economic exclusion continues to affect queer people in Botswana despite two landmark court victories: the 2016 registration case and the 2019 decriminalisation ruling. While these legal gains affirmed the right of queer people to exist and love freely, the feature highlights that lived experiences remain largely unchanged. Financial systems, employment environments and market structures have yet to reflect queer inclusion.
The story examines practical questions: Can queer partners access joint mortgages if they cannot marry? Are medical aid schemes designed to recognise life partnerships? Do employment policies address the realities of queer people, especially transgender and gender‑diverse communities who experience heightened exclusion? Interviews revealed that without inclusive frameworks, queer people face disproportionate financial burdens. Unsafe public spaces force many to rely on taxis instead of walking. Discrimination in clinics pushes queer people to pay for private healthcare. Social hostility often restricts access to public entertainment venues unless they pay extra for safety. These indirect costs amount to a “queer tax,” where discrimination becomes an economic burden.
Statistics Botswana confirmed in the story that the country still collects no data on queer people. Current gender categories are limited to two options, erasing non-binary individuals entirely. Without data, policy reforms cannot adequately address lived experiences or economic realities. The agency explained potential future steps for improving gender data collection and how policy change might unfold.
The story was produced strategically for the opening of Botswana’s Legal Year under the theme “The Court as a Public Service.” It sought to raise the question: Have court judgments truly improved livelihoods, and if not, what measures are needed for justice to be felt locally? The timing also connected legal discourse with the national Budget Speech, ensuring queer people were not left out of mainstream conversations.
Attempts to engage the business community were met with silence. Five major banks and three medical aid companies did not respond to questionnaires about inclusive products or internal policies. These questions aimed to evaluate whether employers recognised diverse family structures and whether companies were prepared to develop queer-inclusive products. Their silence underscores the lack of economic inclusion.
The story was eventually released online, where it sparked active conversation. Some harmful comments had to be removed, but the engagement demonstrated widespread public interest and the need for continued dialogue. Listeners discussed barriers faced by queer people and the responsibilities of employers, policymakers, product developers and ordinary citizens.
The feature contributes to advocacy by exposing structural injustices that persist after legal reforms. It emphasises the importance of economic rights alongside political and social freedoms. It also encourages accountability, particularly for financial institutions and workplaces that still exclude queer people in practice.
The journalist intends to continue following up with banks, medical aid providers and policymakers to uncover progress—or the lack of it—in developing inclusive programmes. The broader plan is to expand the work into discussions across radio shows and partnerships with organisations such as LEGABIBO. The upcoming feature on countering hate speech will connect discrimination with economic rights, showing how different identities—queer women, queer men, gender‑diverse people—experience unique barriers.
Future topics will also examine inheritance issues for non‑traditional families, gender‑mismatched documentation, barriers to employment for trans persons and the absence of gender‑affirming care in public health systems. Each of these factors has strong economic implications. By continuing to investigate and amplify these challenges, the work aims to push Botswana toward a society where economic inclusion becomes a reality for all queer people.
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