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Rh life partnership which entails a conjugal same-sex relationship, which is the only form of conjugal relationship open to gays and lesbians in harmony with their sexual orientation.

A notable and significant development in our statute law in recent years has been the extent of express and implied recognition the legislature has accorded same-sex partnerships. A range of statutory provisions have included such unions within their ambit. While this legislative trend is significant in evincing Parliament’s commitment to equality on the ground of sexual orientation, See, for example, the use of the expressions “spouse, partner or associate” in section 6(1)(f) of the Independent Media Commission Act 148 of 1993 and sections 5(1)(e) and (f) of the Independent Broadcasting Authority Act 153 of 1993 and the fact that, for purposes of these provisions, “spouse” includes “a de facto spouse”; “life-partner” in sections 3(7)(a)(ii), 3(8) and 7(5) of the Lotteries Act 57 of 1997 and section 27(2)(c)(i) the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997; the definition of spouse in section 31 of the Special Pensions Act 69 of 1996 to mean “the partner … in a marriage relationship” which latter relationship is defined to include “a continuous cohabitation in a homosexual or heterosexual partnership for a period of at least 5 years”; the definition of “family responsibility” in section 1 of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 which includes “responsibility of employees in relation to their spouse or partner”; the definition of “dependant” in the Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998 which includes the “the spouse or partner, dependant children or other members of the member’s immediate family in respect of whom the member is liable for family care and support”; and the definition of “spouse” in section 8(6)(e)(iii)(aa) of the Housing Act 107 of 1997 which includes “a person with whom the member lives as if they were married or with whom the member habitually cohabits” and sections 9(4) and 11(5)(b) of the South African Civil Aviation Authority Act 40 of 1998 and “life partners” in sections 10(2) and 15(9) of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act 20 of 1999. there is still no appropriate recognition in our law of the same-sex life partnership, as a relationship, to meet the legal and other needs of its partners. Rh