Outrage and anger over lesbian’s brutal murder
LESBIANS have voiced their concern and outrage after a woman was brutally attacked and murdered in a recent hate crime in Johannesburg – where a toilet-brush was used in the attack.
The woman’s mother reportedly said she believed her daughter was killed because of her sexuality. She was lesbian. Freelance researcher in LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) and women’s rights, Dipika Nath, said: “The men who did this are pathologically sick. They are unstable and unwell. For them to have inserted a toilet brush in her shows that they thought she was ‘sh..’ They had absolute no regard for this woman just because of her sexual orientation. This is unacceptable.”
Nath said lesbians had to be on guard.
“It seems as if we must move in groups and socialise in certain places at certain times and with certain people. Not all of this is possible. We cannot shut ourselves in a room and let life pass us by – where no one has access to us. But this is a cruel reality some people may find themselves in.”
Nath said there was no concrete statistics regarding corrective rape – a hate crime in which a person was raped because of their perceived sexual or gender orientation.
“It is impossible to tell how many women have been raped or attacked as there is under-reporting of sexual violence. Some may not have ‘come out’ so to speak for fear of being ostracised and refuse to lay charges against their perpetrators.”
She said the Corrective Rape Task Team, established by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster to conduct an audit of legislation pertaining to hate crimes in South Africa, needed to do more to curb the violence.
Nath previously worked at Human Rights Watch documenting violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Asia and Africa.
She attained her PhD in feminist issues at the University of Washington in the United States, and resides in Gauteng.
Nath, who is 39, revealed her sexual preference almost 20 years ago.
Meanwhile, gay right activist Ashika Maharaj, said it seemed as if lesbians needed to be discreet. “To protect ourselves, it seems as if we should not draw attention to ourselves as not everyone is open minded. When I read about what these rapists did, inserting a toilet brush in the victim, I has horrified. Corrective rape is not acceptable and should not be tolerated. I hope the government gets some legislation passed to protect the community.”
The 32 year old previously worked as the programmes health co-ordinator at the Gay and Lesbian Network in Pietermaritzburg.
She is currently based in Gauteng and remains vocal about issues affecting the LGBT and intersex communities.
In a statement, the Shadow Deputy Minister of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities for the Democratic Alliance, Helen Lamoela, said they would submit parliamentary questions to the Department of Justice to query the progress of the task team.
Lamoela said it was estimated that as many as 10 lesbians were raped or gang-raped weekly in South African and that victims of ‘corrective’ rape were less likely to report their victimisation to the police due to some of the stigmas still surrounding homosexuality.