<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>Nomawabo hassurvived brutalviolence. She was<strong>rape</strong>d by a schoolfriend at age 15 then,when she was 17,abducted and attackedby a gang <strong>of</strong> men.ActionAid’s work onwomen’s rightsAchiev<strong>in</strong>g women’s rights is ActionAid’soverarch<strong>in</strong>g priority and is reflectedthroughout all our campaign<strong>in</strong>g andprogramme work. We firmly believe that the eradication <strong>of</strong> poverty and <strong>in</strong>justice will be impossible without secur<strong>in</strong>g equality and rights for women.In order to do this effectively, we mustmake a concerted effort to tackleviolence aga<strong>in</strong>st women. Together withour partner organisations around theworld we campaign for changes <strong>in</strong> thelaw and demand access to justice; weprovide services for survivors <strong>of</strong> violenceand support programmes for women’sempowerment.As this report shows, too <strong>of</strong>ten women aretargeted for sexual violence, one result<strong>of</strong> which is their <strong>in</strong>creased likelihood <strong>of</strong>becom<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>fected with HIV. <strong>The</strong> <strong>in</strong>tersection<strong>of</strong> violence aga<strong>in</strong>st women and HIV is thefocus <strong>of</strong> Women Won’t Wait, an <strong>in</strong>ternationalcoalition <strong>of</strong> which ActionAid is a member.Sexual orientation andhuman rightsHuman rights violations targeted at peoplebecause <strong>of</strong> their sexual orientation are aglobal phenomenon. <strong>The</strong>y <strong>in</strong>clude sexualassault, <strong>rape</strong>, torture and murder, as well asdenial <strong>of</strong> employment, education and otherbasic rights.Discrim<strong>in</strong>ation aga<strong>in</strong>st lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people isunderp<strong>in</strong>ned by heteronormativity. This isthe idea, dom<strong>in</strong>ant <strong>in</strong> most societies, thatheterosexuality is the only ‘normal’ sexualorientation, only sexual or marital relationsbetween women and men are acceptable,and each sex has certa<strong>in</strong> natural roles<strong>in</strong> life, so-called gender roles. In manyplaces, women and men who transcendthese norms or challenge these roles facediscrim<strong>in</strong>ation and violence.In 86 UN member states, homosexuality isillegal and <strong>in</strong> seven countries it is punishableby death. 4 <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> is one <strong>of</strong> the onlycountries <strong>in</strong> the world that explicitlyprohibits discrim<strong>in</strong>ation on the basis <strong>of</strong>sexual orientation <strong>in</strong> its constitution, butmany other countries guarantee the rights <strong>of</strong>LGBT people through law. However, as thisreport shows, for LGBT people to enjoy theirrights, it is critical that they are promoted,protected and fulfilled by the state.In December 2008, the UN issued adeclaration on sexual orientation andgender identity. Sixty-six countries havesigned the declaration, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g sixcountries <strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>. <strong>The</strong> United States, India and <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> are among thecountries that have not yet signed. 5