“Corrective Rape" of Lesbians in the Era of Transformative Constitutionalism in South Africa

Abstract

There have been numerous incidents of “corrective” rape of lesbians in recent years. This article examines the adequacy of the existing South African legal framework to deal with incidents of “corrective” rape against the background of transformative constitutionalism. The various definitions of transformative constitutionalism and an understanding of heteronormativity are explored. The article proceeds to examine “corrective” rape and concludes with suggestions as to how legislation should make provision for “corrective” rape.

O processo de identificação sexual na adolescência: um estudo qualitativo no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

“…Segundo Gomes e Fehlberg (2015), atos como esse se baseiam na crença de que o lesbianismo se origina na falta de contato heterossexual. Trata-se da tentativa de curar a homossexualidade de mulheres, adolescentes e adultas, que são ou se presume serem lésbicas (Koraan & Geduld, 2015).…”

“Into Nje – It’s Just a Thing…”: Being a Lesbian in a Rural Area

“…According to Swarr (2012) and Westman (2019), society perceives lesbians as both a threat to masculinity and as unavailable for men, and this perception unfortunately often leads to physical attacks and corrective rape (Sithole, 2015). Koraan and Geduld (2015) stated that on average 10 lesbians are raped each week in South Africa to "correct" their sexual orientation. Naidoo (2018) revealed that since 2000, nearly 40 lesbians have been killed and confirms that an average of about 10 lesbians are raped every week by men, with some justifying their actions as necessary to "correct" the sexual orientation of the women (Naidoo, 2018).…”

Gendered human (in) security in South Africa: what can ubuntu feminism offer?

“…Gender Links and the Medical Research Council (2011) found in a Gauteng-based study that 75.5% of the male respondents admitted to having perpetrated violence against a woman in their lifetime, while 51.3% of the female respondents reported having experienced some form of GBV. Women identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, homosexual, or transgendered are subjected to corrective rape at an average rate of 10 LGBTQI women per week (Koraan and Geduld 2015;Wells and Polders 2006).…”