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Definition

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Corrective rape is a criminal practice in which men rape a lesbian, sometimes under the supervision by members of the woman's family or local community, with the purported purpose of "curing" her of homosexuality.

The practice was first seen in South Africa.

The term corrective rape was first used in the early 2000s by non-governmental organisations human rights to describe rapes committed against South African lesbians. In 2008 when Eudy Simelane, a member of the South Africa women's national football team and a vocal LGBT-rights activist in South Africa was gang raped and murdered in KwaThema, Gauteng. Two of her four accused assailants were ultimately convicted.

A November 2008 report by the NGO ActionAid and the South African Human Rights Commission reported that corrective rape is a serious problem.

“They tell me that they will kill me, they will rape me and after raping me I will become a girl. I will become a straight girl.” Zakhe, 23, Soweto.

Why it occurs To be completed by Tasneem

Health Ramifications

A variety of physical and psychological trauma can result from corrective rape and the physical abuse that often accompanies it. There are many cases in which the victim does not survive the attack or are maimed/scarred for life; many victims contemplate suicide due to the high amount of shame that is associated with the violation. Victims in South Africa are at a high risk for contracting HIV/AIDS as well as other sexually transmitted diseases, in addition to experiencing a pregnancy. Treatment Action Committee (TAC) says there is also growing evidence that rape is contributing to increasing rates of HIV infection amongst black lesbian women. Services for survivors of sexual violence, such as access to post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission and emergency contraception, are woefully inadequate.

Prevalence

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South Africa

Canada

Other Countries

Social Issues

Family

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Military

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Global Impacts

“Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence — yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned.” -Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General.

Discrimination, torture and rape of lesbians happens in every part of the world, including "developed" countries Some believe this to be a manifestation of the domination of patriarchal society which punishes lesbians as outsiders, especially when nations go to war. Under patriarchy, lesbian existence is delegitimized and/or made illegal. Dr. Susan Hawthorne argues that the freedom of lesbians from torture and violence may be an indicator of the social health of a society. Amnesty International's Crimes of Hate report concludes with the following statement: "The struggle to protect the human rights of LGBT people should be one that is waged by all". In addition, many believe that it should be recognized as a hate crime because of the misunderstanding of homosexuality and the animus toward gay people that motivate corrective rape. Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is underpinned by heteronormativity. Heteronormativity is the idea, dominant in most societies, that heterosexuality is the only ‘normal’ sexual orientation, only sexual or marital relations between women and men are acceptable,and each sex has certain natural roles in life, so-called gender roles.

Legal, Public Policy

South Africa is uniquely able to "correct" corrective rape. The 1996 Constitution enshrines myriad rights on the basis of which a group may challenge the circumstances that give rise to corrective rape; the constitutional doctrine makes available several possibilities for bringing suit; and South Africa manifests an openness to international and comparative law that makes it possible to incorporate human rights approaches to preventing private rights abuses. Traditionally, in South Africa and elsewhere, the legal system has allowed the public-private divide to dictate a lower level of involvement in issues of domestic violence and sexual assault, including corrective rape. However, "modern human rights law has largely ignored this private-public distinction". For instance, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which obligates states to remove discriminatory barriers from the full and free exercise of rights by women, reaches any actor. The Convention's duty to modify the conduct of private citizens to ensure equality for women covers attitudes that include the inferiority of women and stereotyped gender roles, which arguably encompass the animus toward gay women that motivates many men to commit corrective rape. However, 66% of women said they did not report their attack because they would not be taken seriously . Of these, 25% said they feared exposing their sexual orientation to the police and 22% said they were afraid of being abused by the police South Africa is in the process of translating the promises of democracy into reality and in this process it is confronting a major challenge in the form of gender-based violence.

United Nations

In 86 UN member states, homosexuality is illegal and in seven countries it is punishable by death. In December 2008, the UN issued a declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity. Sixty-six countries have signed the declaration, including six countries in Africa. The United States, India and South Africa are among the countries that have not yet signed.

Case Studies and Testimonies

Eudy Simelane To be completed by partner

Zukiswa Gaca To be completed by partner

Zoliswa Nkonyana To be completed by partner

Noxolo Nogwaza The body of Noxolo Nogwaza, a 24 year old lesbian and member of Ekurhuleni Pride Organizing Committee, was found lying in an alley in Kwa-Thema at about 9am on Sunday, April 24 2011. Noxola’s head was completely deformed, her eyes out of the sockets, her brain spilt, teeth scattered all around and face crashed beyond recognition. Witnesses say that an empty beer bottle and a used condom were stuck up her genitals. Parts of the rest of her body had been stabbed with glass. A large pavement brick that is believed to have been used to crash her head was found by her side.

Brandon Teena Brandon Teena, a 21 year old trans man, was killed on December 31st, 1993 by two men who were enraged because Brandon had reported them to the police for a violent sexual assault. That sexual assault occurred, by the accounts portrayed in “The Brandon Teena Story” and “Boys Don’t Cry,” because the soon-to-be-murderers were enraged over Brandon’s gender identity.

Activism and Preventative Efforts

Various organizations, groups, and individuals work to raise awareness of corrective rape and it's ramifications. Many individuals are also trying to raise general awareness of the existence of gender non-conforming women, including lesbians, bisexual, transgender and inter-sexed women in order to stop stereotypes and stigmas that exist around them.

Action Aid

Achieving women's rights is Action Aid's overarching priority that they try to achieve through campaigning and different programme work. They view ending violence against women as a pivotal element of their overarching mission, including corrective rape. They commissioned a report entitled "Hate crimes: The rise of ‘corrective’ rape in South Africa" which is cited throughout this wikipedia article. Action Aid joined People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA), the Treatment Action Committee (TAC) and 27 other human rights organizations to organize the "07-07-07 Campaign", named to mark the date that two women, Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Massooa, were brutally murdered after being subjected to corrective rape in a Johannesburg township. The campaign calls for justice for Sizakele and Salome and all women being targeted for hate crimes.Despite police inaction, the coalition is demanding that the authorities re-examine the case and conduct a thorough and efficient investigation into the murder, rape and torture of the women. Furthermore, the campaign is calling for sexual orientation to be specifically recognised as grounds for protection in a proposed new Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill. On International Women’s Day 2009, ActionAid called for an end to South Africa’s war against women with the following recommendations:

The South African government must:

– Uphold their constitution’s prohibition of discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation, including by tackling the rising tide of violence against lesbian women.

– Demonstrate its commitment to action in this area, by signing the UN’s declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity condemning violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatisation, and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

– Bring perpetrators of violence against women to justice.

– Make tackling sexual violence a national priority for the criminal justice system and allocate adequate resources for investigations, as well as appropriate training and incentives for the police and judiciary.

– Recognise hate crimes against lesbian and transgender women as a specific crime category supported by the necessary resources to investigate and bring these crimes to court.

– Include sexual orientation as grounds for protection against hate speech in the proposed Prohibition of Hate Speech Bill.

– Allocate resources for adequate services for survivors of sexual violence, including post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission and emergency contraception.

– Ensure specific HIV services are available and accessible to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, including lesbian women.

– Take action to tackle gender discrimination and violence against women, including economic empowerment measures and community education programmes.

The International Community Must:

– Recognise violence against women as the most widespread human rights violation and a key security issue.

– Prioritise and take steps to guarantee women’s security, by addressing violence against women in all its manifestations.

Luleki Sizwe

Luleki Sizwe is a community based organization focused on supporting victims of corrective rape in South Africa’s townships. Their top two objectives include changing the existing stereotypes surrounding lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in our society and supporting and reaching out to lesbians who have been forced from their homes due to their sexual orientation and HIV status. They try and accomplish this through a variety of activities including campaigning, advocating and providing a safe house and medical care to victims of corrective rape.

Ekurhuleni Pride Organizing Committee (EPOC)

The Ekurhuleni Pride Organising Committee was formed in June 2009 by a small group of LGBTIs (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexed) who wanted to decrease the frequency of severe Hate-Crimes affecting LGBTIs within Ekurhuleni. EPOC organizes the Ekurhuleni Pride March, holds regular meetings to share information, hosts workshops and conferences to bring forth education. They also aim to document the lives and the openly gay and lesbian Ekurhuleni activists who liberated themselves in the 1980’s.

Edge Magazine

The Edge is a magazine based in the United States dedicated to providing a platform for minorities. They featured an article on raising awareness for victims of corrective rape.

Uzima Collective Group

The Uzima Collective Group is based in North Carolina. Their mission is to empower women, promote wellness, growth, equality, and to make a rise against hate crimes on lesbians. They had a campaign entitled "Because of who I am" in which they mailed postcards to government officials and set up a pen pal network between American and South African lesbians in an effort to raise international awareness about and provide support against corrective rape in South Africa.

See also

• Sexual violence in South Africa
• LGBT rights in South Africa
• Violence against LGBT people
• Lesbophobia
• Causes of sexual violence
• Factors associated with being a victim of sexual violence
• Rape statistics
• Types of rape