Awareness | Posted by Julie Z on 02/4/2011
Awareness: “Corrective Rape”
let's stop corrective rape
According to a recent report by ActionAid – an international NGO – there’s a rising, incredibly homophobic and violent trend amongst South Africans. In addition to waves of homophobic attacks and murders in townships like Johannesburg and Cape Town, South African lesbians are the victims of “corrective” rape.
“Corrective rape” is the practice of a heterosexual man raping a lesbian with the intent of “turning” her heterosexual. As if the act of rape weren’t enough, many of these women experience after effects of contracting HIV/AIDS and lasting psychological trauma, including a rise in depression and suicide attempts.
What’s even more frustrating than the occurrence of Corrective Rape is the South African government’s complete unwillingness to act on behalf of the victims. South Africa’s national prosecuting authority, in response to the rising trend, stated, “While hate crimes – especially of a sexual nature – are rife, it is not something that the South African government has prioritised as a specific project.” The understandable outrage this comment has caused is underscored by the fact that recent research shows 86% of black lesbians from the Western Cape currently live in fear of sexual assault, and a gay rights organization in the area reports that it deals with up to ten new cases of “corrective rape” every week. Not to mention that 24 of 25 South African men accused of rape walk free.
Please consider signing this petition to declare “Corrective Rape” a hate crime. They’re only about 5,000 signatures away from their goal of 150,000 and every signature counts!
(6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Read other posts about: corrective rape, Feminism, feminist activism, gay rights, global feminism, hate crimes, LGBT, LGBT hate crimes, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, South Africa, violence
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A @ at 4:39 pm, February 4th, 2011
With no exaggeration, that may be one of the most awful human rights violations that I have ever heard about. I’m in shocked disbelief.
Quinc @ at 3:13 am, February 5th, 2011
Unfortunately this does seem to fit in with a horribly mislead logic. They seem to think (as do some Americans) that homosexuality is defined by who we have sex with. Though in reality, as any actual homosexual person will tell you, there is something more innate that causes the behavior. They didn’t just up and decide to go gay one day.
Also they fail the recognize the significance of sexual consent. They probably think that rape can have an identical psychological effect as if the woman had magically wanted sex with the perpetrator. “Since your dick doesn’t bounce off of a magical force-field that must mean she wants sex with you and is really straight now right?”
Combined with a general “GRAAAH! I HATE GAYS! I HATE WOMEN!” and the idea that sex requires domination, and there is a surprisingly sound logic, only the premises are wrong.
Tweets that mention Awareness: “Corrective Rape” | fbomb -- Topsy.com @ at 4:35 pm, February 5th, 2011
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Julie Zeilinger, Rosalie Clarke. Rosalie Clarke said: RT @the_fbomb: Awareness: Corrective Rape http://twittley.com/r/6mcsyfivk51q #feminism #LGBT [...]
Emma @ at 8:15 pm, July 12th, 2011
This absolutely has to be one of the most awful things I’ve ever heard of in my fourteen years life. I’m stunned and horrified.
And yes, even though making it a crime would help, I really think the problem lies with education. Obviously, any educated man would know that this is in no way going make someone straight. I think that we should be focusing on education African men (and men in general) on diversity and tolerance and women’s rights.