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South African Gangs Raping Lesbians to "Cure" Them



Lesbians in South Africa are at high risk of being raped in towns where homosexuality is considered taboo -- where gangs of men view rape as a "cure" for sexual orientation, according to ActionAid's report "Hate Crimes: The Rise of Corrective Rape in South Africa."

The country logs approximately half a million rapes per year, and nearly all of the accused rapists go unpunished. This behavior is attributed to the patriarchal, male-dominated society in the regions where it's rampant.

"So-called 'corrective' rape is yet another grotesque manifestation of violence against women, the most widespread human rights violation in the world today," ActionAid's Zanele Twala said in a statement. "These crimes continue unabated and with impunity, while governments simply turn a blind eye."

At least 31 known lesbians have also been murdered in homophobic attacks over the last decade. However, since South Africa does not recognize sexual orientation when classifying hate crimes, the actual number is likely much higher. Among these cases, only two of the men went to trial, and just one was convicted.

"Here in South Africa you have judges sending women to jail for stealing a loaf of bread to feed her baby, but men who gang-rape women, who murder lesbians they walk the streets as free men," Tsidi, a hate-crime survivor in Cape Town said in a statement.

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Reader Comments
  • Name: Richard
    Date posted: 3/15/2009 2:39:00 PM
    Hometown: Glendale, Az

    Comment:

    I wondering if we put together large groups of men to rape men to turn them Gay if they would still believe this to be a cure or would they feel the HATRED Women feel after being raped. This is not just a GAY/STRAIGHT issue, all women and everyone else in between should be protected from any form of rape. Rape is up there with Murder, you just can't believe what is taken away from the one who has been raped.

  • Name: Shirley Drouin
    Date posted: 3/14/2009 2:38:00 PM
    Hometown: Paducah Ky

    Comment:

    Rape for any reason is wrong...PERIOD!! And to rape a Lesbian to cure her...GET REAL!! If that were the case, I would be heterosexual not gay...being as I was raped every day for a least two years as a child by my own brother. If anything...it will turn more woman GAY!! Those rapist are nothing more then cowards and degenerates!!

  • Name: Shirley Drouin
    Date posted: 3/14/2009 2:34:00 PM
    Hometown: Paducah Ky

    Comment:

    Rape for any reason is wrong...PERIOD!! And to rape a Lesbian to cure her...GET REAL!! If that were the case, I would be heterosexual not gay...being as I was raped every day for a least two years as a child by my own brother. If anything...it will turn more woman GAY!! Those rapist are nothing more then cowards and degenerates!!

  • Name: Adrian
    Date posted: 3/13/2009 8:00:00 PM
    Hometown: Northridge

    Comment:

    We should urge our president to embargo this country for doing such a lousy job on protecting the minority, such as lesbians. Who else are willing to help our kinds if we are not proactive in protecting ourselves? Send letters/emails to our senators and congressmen. I have been doing such action but I am alone is not enough. We need to stick together to win this battle.

  • Name: Jason Bird
    Date posted: 3/13/2009 4:24:00 PM
    Hometown: London

    Comment:

    As a South African, I am shames and disgusted to read about this. Unfortunately, as wonderful as our constitution is in protecting gay people, our sociality is far less tolerant and needs to catch up. This is mainly an issue in the black community, but is an issue we all as a nation need to address.. after the terrible years of white only rule, our country needs a long time to heal the social wounds that rule caused. This, and the extent of AIDS epidemic are the unfortunate examples of the social side effects of our horrible past. However, remember there is also A LOT of hope, South Africa is the only country in the world to protect sexual orientation in its constitution and one of the few that offer full gay marriage.

  • Name: kathy
    Date posted: 3/13/2009 4:21:00 PM
    Hometown: Dennis, MA

    Comment:

    Every single woman I know gay, straight, cisgendered, and trans has been raped. Every one. There is something very deeply wrong going on in South Africa.

  • Name: Daniel S
    Date posted: 3/13/2009 3:43:00 PM
    Hometown: New Hope, PA

    Comment:

    Patriarchal culture and abuse of women in general, not just lesbians, is rampant in Africa. Rape is depressingly widespread. One bit of controversy that got lost back in 2001 due to 9/11 was a report showing that priests were even raping nuns in many African parishes. This is just a symptom of that larger problem, as only a complete idiot would believe that raping a lesbian would "cure" her and give her a preference for men. It's just a weak excuse to justify gratifying their own perversions.

  • Name: aleksei g
    Date posted: 3/13/2009 2:37:00 PM
    Hometown: londontown

    Comment:

    Shalom and shanti to the rape survivors. A big part of all patriarchal societies the oppression of animals, women, people of color, the poor and glbt people. We must resist such evil in this world.



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