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One South African man stated, “Lesbians get raped and killed because it is accepted by our community and by our culture.”<ref name=Middleton> Middleton, Lee. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2057744,00.html "'Corrective Rape': Fighting a South African Scourge."] ''Time.'' Time, 08 Mar. 2011.</ref>
One South African man stated, “Lesbians get raped and killed because it is accepted by our community and by our culture.”<ref name=Middleton> Middleton, Lee. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2057744,00.html "'Corrective Rape': Fighting a South African Scourge."] ''Time.'' Time, 08 Mar. 2011.</ref>

=== Canada ===
Although [[gay marriage]] was legalized in [[Canada]] in 2003, there are still many laws that target [[gay sex]]: anal sex is illegal for anyone younger than eighteen, although the [[age of consent]] for penile-vaginal [[sexual intercourse|intercourse]] is fourteen in most provinces; it is legal for three or more people to have sex “as long as there is no anal penetration,” reads Section 159 of the Criminal Code; and even in courtrooms, Canadian gays face subtle forms of discrimination.<ref name=Janoff>Janoff, Douglas. ''Pink Blood: Homophobic Violence in Canada.'' Toronto: University of Toronto, 2005.</ref>

In [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] in 1997, a young man was lured into an alley and raped while prayers and religious words were said during the attack. The man was reportedly emotionally traumatized by the religious aspect of the attack.<ref name=Janoff />

The wide-spread belief that sexual assaults of gay men are not caused by homophobia but by other gay men themselves is supported through assumptions, not [[research]].<ref name=Janoff /> Collective sexual fantasies assigned to the gay community normalize sexual abuse, which provides motivation and justification for sexual assaults.<ref name=Janoff />

Many prison incidents involve a sexual element, ranging from [[coercion]] to rape. In one instance, a teenager begged the judge to not send him back to the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre, where other kids had brutally raped him. The judge acknowledged that the other kids “had perceived he was a homosexual” but said he could do nothing about the placement.<ref name=Janoff />

In an analysis of homophobic violence in Canada, it was found that more than 4% of incidents involved sexual assault. In a separate study in [[Vancouver]], 1/3 of gay men reported that they ‘had been forced to have sex against their will at least once in their lives.’<ref name=Janoff />


===Zimbabwe===
===Zimbabwe===

Revision as of 22:33, 18 April 2012

Corrective rape is a hate crime in which a person is raped because of their perceived sexual or gender orientation. The common intended consequence of the rape, as seen by the perpetrator, is to correct their orientation, to turn them straight, or to make them "act" more like their gender.[1] The term was coined in South Africa after well-known cases of corrective rapes of lesbians like Eudy Simelane and Zoliswa Nkonyana became public. There are many health ramifications associated with corrective rape, and although some countries have laws protecting LGBT people, corrective rape is often overlooked.[2][3]

Definition

Corrective rape is the use of rape against women who violate social norms regarding human sexuality and gender roles, often lesbians but sometimes gay men,[4] with a goal of punishment of abnormal behavior and reinforcement of societal norms.[5] The crime was first identified in South Africa[6] where it is sometimes supervised by members of the woman's family or local community,[1] and is a major contributor to HIV infection in South African lesbians.[5] Corrective rape has also been known to occur in Thailand, Ecuador, Canada, the United States, and Zimbabwe.[7][8][6] Corrective rape and the accompanying violence can result in physical and psychological trauma, mutilation, HIV infection, unwanted pregnancy and contribute to suicide.[2][5]

Causes

A 2000 study suggested the visibility of lesbians within a community, an atmosphere supportive of hate crimes against homosexuals, isolated locations, reactions to hate crimes by the broader community, and responses by police and justice systems contribute to corrective rape.[1] Failure to conform to social norms for gendered behaviour is also thought to contribute.[9]

By country

South Africa

Currently in South Africa, women have less sexual and economic power than men. One of the factors associated with this inequality is strict gender roles, which has led to one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world.[7][9] Corrective rape is used as a "punishment" for people who are gay or do not fit traditional gender roles (usually women), where oftentimes they are verbally abused before the rape by the perpetrator saying things, such as that they will be “teaching [the women] a lesson” on how to be a “real woman.” Because women have less control over their economics, which creates economic vulnerability, they have less control over their own sexual activities.[7] Poor, black women who live in townships are more likely to become victims of corrective violence, and gay women are more likely to be isolated with little support, which increases their chances of being targeted.[3]

Corrective rape is not recognized by the South African legal system as a hate crime despite the fact that the South African Constitution states that no person shall be discriminated against based on their social status and identity, including sexual orientation.[10][7] Legally, South Africa protects gay rights extensively, but the government does not do anything to prevent corrective rape, and women do not have much faith in the police and their investigations.[3][11] Crimes based on sexual orientation are not expressly recognized in South Africa; corrective rape reports are not separated from general rape reports.[3] In December 2009, there had been 31 recorded murders of lesbians in South Africa since 1998, but only one had resulted in a conviction.[7] In the last twenty years, attitudes toward homosexuality have become worse in South Africa.[12]

Prevalence

According to human rights organizations, over 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime, but only 1 in 9 rapes are reported.[13] In 2006, more than 54,000 cases of rape were reported.[14] The average South African woman is more likely to be raped than to finish secondary school.[13]

Corrective rape is on the rise in South Africa. More than 10 lesbians are raped or gang-raped weekly, as estimated by Luleki Sizwe, a South African nonprofit.[15] It is estimated that at least 500 lesbians become victims of corrective rape every year and that 86% of black lesbians in the Western Cape live in fear of being sexually assaulted, as reported by the Triangle Project in 2008.[3] Yet, victims of corrective rape are less likely to report it because of the negative social view of homosexuality.[3] Under-reporting is high for sexually violent crimes, thus the number of corrective rapes are likely higher than what is reported.[3]

One South African man stated, “Lesbians get raped and killed because it is accepted by our community and by our culture.”[13]

Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe in the early 2000s, a young lesbian was locked up by her family and was raped until she was impregnated by an older man, in order to “correct” and punish her for her non-heterosexual orientation.[16][7] Like in South Africa, many victims of corrective rape in Zimbabwe do not want to speak out because of the stigma surrounding homosexuality.[4] Amanda Porter, a political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Harare, reported that gay men are forced into heterosexual acts and lesbian women were raped, sometimes by male relatives, to convert their orientation.[17] In Zimbabwe, it is against the law to engage in homosexual acts under the common law offense of sodomy, but the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has stated: “We support a Constitution that protects Zimbabweans against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”[4]

Thailand

In Thailand, a Burmese lesbian went shopping with a male friend, where he and five other men raped her, saying she was wasting her beauty as a lesbian. Although everyone who worked in the factory with her knew about the rape, no one came to her defense.[7]

United States

There have been multiple instances of corrective rape of LGBT persons in the United States. In 2000, Frederick Mason, a 31-year-old African American, was arrested following a verbal altercation with his landlord. He was then taken to the police station where he was put into an interrogation room with two unidentified officers. The officers forced down his pants and raped him with a billy club while saying things such as, “I’m tired of you, faggot.”[18] In 2003, a Native American transgender woman was walking down the street late at night when two LAPD officers threatened her with arrest for prostitution. They put her in handcuffs and drove her to an alley, where they physically and verbally abused her, saying, “You fucking whore, you fucking faggot.” The two officers then raped her, threw her on the ground, and said, “That’s what you deserve.”[18] In 2004, a lesbian from Georgia was raped by a deputy officer. She reported that he forced her into her apartment at gunpoint and raped her, vowing he was going to “teach her a lesson” and that “the world needed at least one less dyke” and that he was going to make that happen.[18][7]

Ecuador

Ecuador has been found to host rehabilitation clinics that attempt to "cure" homosexuality through corrective rape, forced isolationism, and physical torture.[8] Many times, people are forced into the clinics by family members. One woman, Paola Concha, was 24 years old when she was taken, against her will, into a clinic outside of Quito in 2006. Concha says she was in the clinic for about 18 months, during which she was confined for days without food repeatedly, forced to dress as a man, and was raped. The rehabilitation clinics operate under the guise of drug and alcohol centers, but it is questionable how many of them also offer "treatments" for homosexuality. Homosexuality was illegal in Ecuador until 1998, but in 2008, civil unions were legalized under the new Constitution.[8]

Social issues

Family

In the article "Ancient Hatred And Its Contemporary Manifestation: The Torture Of Lesbians," the author describes how lesbians in various parts of the world who are tortured face several forms of treatment, such as initially being shunned.[2] A article describes punishments can either be given by the government but also often by members of the family of the lesbian or the community. The article mentions that when the family gives punishment, it is often difficult to have the punishment recognized as a violation of the lesbian’s human rights and as an instance of torture. In such circumstances the torturer can continue with impunity because “no one will ever know, no one will ever hear you, no one will ever find out.”[2] In one example, the article describes Tina Machida, a Zimbabwean lesbian who lives in Harare. Machida writes, "They locked me in a room and brought him every day to rape me so I would fall pregnant and be forced to marry him. They did this to me until I was pregnant."[2] The article discusses another case of a lesbian who had family issues: Irina, a Russian lesbian, had been tortured and ill-treated by the police, private investigators, and her own family members. Irina described how, in 1995, her sisters demanded she give up custody of her son and get psychiatric treatment in order to “cure” her homosexuality.[2]

When describing the guidelines to interviewing lesbian refugees, the same article describes how one rule is that lesbians who are refugees might also be in danger from their families, particularly from the men in their families. Their confidential interview should not include asking other family members questions about their sexual orientation.[2] Several rules are presented under these guidelines to express the efforts being put into helping lesbians who have been tortured.[2]

Military

Social issues surrounding corrective rape in terms of the military include the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the United States. Aboali, the author of the article "American Judge Offers Corrective Rape as Solution to Don't Ask, Don't Tell," reports that a conservative news site called The Daily Caller removed a part of an article by Joseph A. Rehyansky, a retired Vietnam vet and current part time magistrate. In the said section of the article, he argued that lesbians should be allowed in the United States military so the straight male soldiers could convert them into being straight women.[19] Aboali describes how in the original article, Rehyansky claims his policy of only allowing lesbians to serve in the military “would get the distaff part of our homosexual population off our collective ‘Broke Back,’ therefore giving straight male GIs a fair shot at converting lesbians and bringing them into the mainstream.”[19] According to Aboali’s report, Rehyansky continues his assertion by arguing that men were rapists by nature. Rehyansky states, “It fell to men to swing through the trees and scour the caves in search of as many women as possible to subdue and impregnate— a tough job but someone had to do it…”[19] He continues with, “Women had to be more selective because, then as now, the principal consequences of copulation were theirs: pregnancy; childbirth; most of the responsibilities of childrearing whilst their baby-daddy hunter-gatherers were about hunting and gathering and finding other women to subdue; and the ruination of their pulchritudinous figures. How our ancient foremothers ever managed to establish any choice in the matter is utterly beyond me when one considers that they did not have access to Mace, police whistles, Lady Smith .38s, or domestic violence hotlines.” Aboali explains that Rehyansky advocates corrective rape.[19]

Baaz and Stern's article "Why Do Soldiers Rape? Masculinity, Violence, and Sexuality in the Armed Forces in the Congo" reports about how the armed forces in the Congo committed rapes throughout the area in the war in the DRC.[20] Baaz and Stern discuss how the soldiers of the Congo distinguish between “lust rapes” and “evil rapes.” The authors argue that their explanations of rape must be understood in relation to ideas of different masculinities.[20] Ultimately, the authors believe readers can understand the reasoning in a globalized way through society’s view of soldiers by which rape becomes possible, and “normalized” in particular warscapes by reading the stories of various soldiers.[20] Baaz and Stern report that overall, the soldiers represented self-images that adhere to universalized military codes, and praise their role as protectors of the population and human – and sometimes women’s – rights. Baaz and Stern also mention that yet, in some places in their paper, references to these standards were absent or distant. They describe that these references reflect ambivalence and blurriness regarding the moral codes and standards which govern the soldiers’ behavior.[20]

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[5]

Discrimination, torture, and rape of people who do not conform to normative gender roles or sexual orientations happens in every part of the world, including "developed" countries.[2] Some believe this to be a manifestation of the domination of a patriarchal society which punishes lesbians as outsiders.[2] 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.[3] Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is underpinned by heteronormativity.[5] 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.[5]

Legal and public policy

South Africa

South Africa is uniquely able to "correct" corrective rape.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3] However, "modern human rights law has largely ignored this private-public distinction."[3] 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.[3] However, 66% of women said they did not report their attack because they would not be taken seriously.[5] 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.[5]

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.[5]

United Nations

In 86 UN member states, homosexuality is illegal, and in seven countries, it is punishable by death.[5] 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.[5]

Eudy Simelane

Main article: Eudy Simelane

On April 28, 2008, 31-years-old female soccer player Eudy Simelane was gang-raped and killed in KwaThema, her hometown near Johannesburg.[9][21] Simelane was a star of the South Africa’s acclaimed Banyana Banyana national female football squad, an avid equality rights campaigner and one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian in KwaThema.[21]

Activism and preventative efforts

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

ActionAid

Achieving women's rights is ActionAid's overarching priority that they try to accomplish through campaigning and different programme work.[5] They view ending violence against women as a pivotal element of their overarching mission, including corrective rape. They commissioned an influential report entitled "Hate crimes: The rise of ‘corrective’ rape in South Africa."

ActionAid 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.[5] 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:[5]

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:[5]

– 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.[22] 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

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.[23] 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.[23]

Edge Magazine

The Edge is a magazine based in the United States dedicated to providing a platform for minorities.[24] They featured an article on raising awareness for victims of corrective rape.[24]

Uzima Collective Group

The Uzima Collective Group is based in North Carolina.[25] Their mission is to empower women, promote wellness, growth, equality, and to make a rise against hate crimes on lesbians.[26] 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.[26]

See also

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References

  1. ^ a b c Bartle, EE (2000). "Lesbians And Hate Crimes" (pdf). Journal Of Poverty. 4 (4): 23–44.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hawthorne, Susan. "Ancient Hatred And Its Contemporary Manifestation: The Torture Of Lesbians." Journal Of Hate Studies 4.1 (2005): 33-58. Academic Search Complete.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Di Silvio, Lorenzo. "Correcting Corrective Rape: Carmichele and Developing South Africa’s Affirmative Obligations To Prevent Violence Against Women." Georgetown Law Journal 99 (2011): 1469-515.
  4. ^ a b c Gonda, W (2010-04-08). "'Corrective Rape' against Homosexuals on the Rise in Zimbabwe". SW Radio Africa.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cite error: The named reference Actionaid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Janoff was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Mieses, Alexa. "Gender Inequality and Corrective Rape of Women Who Have Sex with Women." GMHC Treatment Issues (2009): 1-3.
  8. ^ a b c Caselli, Irene. "'Corrective Rape,' Torture among Methods Used to 'cure' Homosexuality in Ecuador." Alaska Dispatch. Alaska Dispatch, 10 Feb. 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "Stop the Violence - Live Updates from South Africa." Human Rights Watch. 11 Feb. 2009.
  10. ^ Mabuse, Nkepile. "'Corrective Rape' Motivated by Hate." World's Untold Stories. CNN. London, 7 Nov. 2011.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mabuse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Hazelton, Liz. "Raped for Being Gay: Scourge of South African Sex Attacks Which Men Claim Will 'cure' Women of Being Lesbians." Mail Online. Daily Mail, 31 Oct. 2011.
  13. ^ a b c Middleton, Lee. "'Corrective Rape': Fighting a South African Scourge." Time. Time, 08 Mar. 2011.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference CS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ ”South African lesbians at risk for ‘corrective rape.” Contemporary Sexuality. 45.7 (2011): 8.
  16. ^ Cultural Practices in the family that are violent towards women. Rep. no. E/CN.4/2002/83. United Nations, 31 Jan. 2002.
  17. ^ Shaw, Angus. "US Reports Harassment and Rape of Gays in Zimbabwe." Salon.com. Salon, 7 Apr. 2010.
  18. ^ a b c Amnesty International USA, Stonewalled: Police Abuse and Misconduct against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the U.S., 2005.
  19. ^ a b c d Aboali, Nora. "American Judge Offers Corrective Rape as Solution to Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Care2 Make a Difference. Care2.com, 3 Dec. 2010.
  20. ^ a b c d Baaz, Maria Eriksson, and Maria Stern. "Why Do Soldiers Rape? Masculinity, Violence, and Sexuality in the Armed Forces in the Congo (DRC)." International Studies Quarterly 53.2 (2009): 495-518. JSTOR.
  21. ^ a b Kelly, A (2009-03-12). "Raped and Killed for Being a Lesbian: South Africa Ignores 'corrective' Attacks". The Guardian.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Change was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ a b "Pride Organising Committee." EKurhuleni Pride. IAmGay.co.za.
  24. ^ a b "About." Edge Magazine Online. Edge Magazine, 2010.
  25. ^ "Uzimacollective : Uzima Collective." Yahoo! Groups. Yahoo!, 5 July 2009.
  26. ^ a b "The Uzima Collective Group." Kabissa. Kabissa, 29 Mar. 2009.

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