this is the epitome of the castration knife tag
South African lesbian women are being systematically raped in order to 'cure' them of homosexuality.
'Corrective' rapes clock in as occuring ten times a week, with numbers steadily rising. Although the South African's constitution purportedly recognizes gay and lesbian rights, it does not translate into the way these crimes are being handled today. According to the statistics, almost half of these women will be raped in their lifetime. There are an estimated 500,000 rapes, and for every twenty-five man brought to charge for rape, twenty-four of them will walk free. South Africa's constitution does not recognize corrective rape as a hate crime.
Women who break out of the mold that the extremely patriarchal, macho culture has made for them are treated to routine abuse, rape, beatings, and even murder. They are told that they are being raped and abused because it is for their own good, that this is a lesson they need to learn to become 'true' women. A woman in this report was assaulted and raped by a friend and became pregnant because of it. Another woman's friend was raped and murdered for playing soccer and being what she was. Their male attackers and murderers still walk free. Just reading this report makes me...just, enraged. Murderously enraged, as in: "I want to give these women machine guns and let them let loose on these men." I want these fuckers castrated, tortured, and DEAD. But that's just me.
This is the link to ActionAid's report "Hate Crimes: The Rise of Corrective Rape in South Africa." It's a PDF.
This is a petition urging South African President Kgalema Motlanthe to deem "corrective" rape a hate crime and therefore require a more severe punishment. I know it's not much, and frankly, it pisses me off just how little I can do to help these people, but please take the time to fill it out. It won't hurt, and it just might help a lot of women who really need it.
'Corrective' rapes clock in as occuring ten times a week, with numbers steadily rising. Although the South African's constitution purportedly recognizes gay and lesbian rights, it does not translate into the way these crimes are being handled today. According to the statistics, almost half of these women will be raped in their lifetime. There are an estimated 500,000 rapes, and for every twenty-five man brought to charge for rape, twenty-four of them will walk free. South Africa's constitution does not recognize corrective rape as a hate crime.
Women who break out of the mold that the extremely patriarchal, macho culture has made for them are treated to routine abuse, rape, beatings, and even murder. They are told that they are being raped and abused because it is for their own good, that this is a lesson they need to learn to become 'true' women. A woman in this report was assaulted and raped by a friend and became pregnant because of it. Another woman's friend was raped and murdered for playing soccer and being what she was. Their male attackers and murderers still walk free. Just reading this report makes me...just, enraged. Murderously enraged, as in: "I want to give these women machine guns and let them let loose on these men." I want these fuckers castrated, tortured, and DEAD. But that's just me.
This is the link to ActionAid's report "Hate Crimes: The Rise of Corrective Rape in South Africa." It's a PDF.
This is a petition urging South African President Kgalema Motlanthe to deem "corrective" rape a hate crime and therefore require a more severe punishment. I know it's not much, and frankly, it pisses me off just how little I can do to help these people, but please take the time to fill it out. It won't hurt, and it just might help a lot of women who really need it.