<strong>Hate</strong> <strong>crimes</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>rise</strong> <strong>of</strong> ‘corrective’ <strong>rape</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>Introduction“Violence aga<strong>in</strong>st women and girls cont<strong>in</strong>ues unabated <strong>in</strong> everycont<strong>in</strong>ent, country and culture. It takes a devastat<strong>in</strong>g toll onwomen’s lives, on their families, and on society as a whole.Most societies prohibit such violence — yet the reality is thattoo <strong>of</strong>ten, it is covered up or tacitly condoned.”Ban Ki Moon, UN Secretary General.“<strong>The</strong>y tell me that they will kill me, they will <strong>rape</strong> me and afterrap<strong>in</strong>g me I will become a girl. I will become a straight girl.”Zakhe, 23, Soweto.As we mark International Women’s Day 2009,across the world millions <strong>of</strong> women cont<strong>in</strong>ue tobe murdered, <strong>rape</strong>d and assaulted with impunity.<strong>The</strong> UN estimates that at least one <strong>in</strong> every threewomen has been beaten, coerced <strong>in</strong>to sex, orotherwise abused <strong>in</strong> her lifetime. 1Violence crosses boundaries <strong>of</strong> class, race,age and sexual orientation. It causes <strong>in</strong>juryand death, but also prevents women and girlsfrom gett<strong>in</strong>g an education, access<strong>in</strong>g healthcare, earn<strong>in</strong>g a liv<strong>in</strong>g, to participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> theircommunities and wider society.In <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>, no woman is safe from violence.<strong>The</strong>re are an estimated 500,000 <strong>rape</strong>s,hundreds <strong>of</strong> murders and countless beat<strong>in</strong>gscarried out every year. Shock<strong>in</strong>gly, it is estimatedthat almost half <strong>of</strong> all <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>n women willbe <strong>rape</strong>d dur<strong>in</strong>g their lifetime. 2 And for every 25men bought to trial for <strong>rape</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>, 24walk free. 3This shameful record <strong>of</strong> male dom<strong>in</strong>ation andviolence has helped build an <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly brutaland oppressive culture, <strong>in</strong> which women areforced to conform to gender stereotypes orsuffer the consequences.As part <strong>of</strong> this oppression, the country is nowwitness<strong>in</strong>g a backlash <strong>of</strong> <strong>crimes</strong> targetedspecifically at lesbian women, who are perceivedas represent<strong>in</strong>g a direct and specific threat to thestatus quo. This violence <strong>of</strong>ten takes the form<strong>of</strong> ‘corrective’ <strong>rape</strong> – a way <strong>of</strong> punish<strong>in</strong>g and‘cur<strong>in</strong>g’ women <strong>of</strong> their sexual orientation.In early 2009 ActionAid carried out <strong>in</strong>terviews with15 survivors <strong>of</strong> these <strong>crimes</strong> and the organisationsthat work with them. <strong>The</strong>y told us their ownstories, and many more <strong>of</strong> friends who had died.It is their words that form the basis <strong>of</strong> this report.“At school I was betrayed by my best friend.He told me to come to his house for aschool assignment but when I got to thehouse we fought until he hit me so hard Icollapsed, and then he <strong>rape</strong>d me becausehe said I needed to stop be<strong>in</strong>g a lesbian.Afterwards I got pregnant and had a baby.<strong>The</strong> second time my soccer friends and Iwere kidnapped at gunpo<strong>in</strong>t and they tookus somewhere far away and did what they wanted with us for three days. We toldthe police but the case just disappeared.Noth<strong>in</strong>g happened because they all thought I deserved it. <strong>The</strong>se men are stillwalk<strong>in</strong>g free.” Nomawabo, 30, Limpopo, <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>.Zakhe has been threatened with‘corrective’ <strong>rape</strong>. Her friendsSizakele and Salome were <strong>rape</strong>dand murdered <strong>in</strong> 2007.
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