Leigh Davids
Leigh Davids (25 March 1979 – 27 February 2019) was a South African transgender woman, activist, and advocate for transgender sex workers’ rights and the decriminalization of sex work. Born in a Muslim family in Cape Town, she left home at 14 after facing abuse and discrimination. To survive, she turned to sex work and experienced police harassment, experiences that shaped her later work.
Davids worked with GenderDynamix, SWEAT, GALA and SRJC. She helped found and coordinate SistaazHood in 2010, the largest transgender women sex worker support group in Africa. In 2016 she received the Movement Building award from SHE. She participated in the Zeitz MOCAA LGBTQI+ Forum in 2017 and was the subject of a 2018 photography exhibition highlighting transgender sex workers of color in Cape Town.
At the 2017 Trans Health, Advocacy and Research Conference she spoke about rising violence against transgender people and the daily struggles of sex workers, showing how prejudice is built into institutions. She also spoke about how the healthcare system often rejects poor queer people, making it hard to access HIV treatment. Davids tested positive for HIV in 2009. She died in Cape Town on 27 February 2019 due to HIV-related health issues. Her life left a legacy of education, safe spaces for LGBTQA+ people, and advocacy for fair healthcare and rights for sex workers.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:31 (CET).