In March 2011 the South African government agreed to address the issue of “corrective rape” due to a petition made by a lesbian activist group. The knowledge of how many women that are raped in South Africa because of their sexual orientation is impossible to achieve since the South African police do not make any distinctions of the motive behind the rape when it is reported. There are “Gay advocacy groups” that claim that there are 10 cases of corrective rape every week just in Cape Town, but these figures have not been confirmed. The gravity of the problem is still eminent as women come forth witnessing about the hate-crimes committed against them.      This study is an attempt to gain knowledge about the situation for these women that exist under the radar of official statistics. Through interviews the study tries to shed light on how the women perceive their situation and through theories from the professional field of social work the aim is to analyse their recovery process, if there is one, after being the survivor of hate crime.      This research shows that the women lived in an exposed position filled with fear, making them alienate from society. The study also found that the women face a number of problems that interfere with their process of recovery and healing. It also disclosed factors that made healing possible even in a violent society like the South African. The support system that surrounded the women was scarce in regards to for example family, but the greater when including the LGBTI community. The research lifts forth how social work can change the lives for people living in an exposed position in society.

Magister Legum - LLM / In South Africa corrective rape is committed by African men as a form of social control to cure women of their homosexuality. The problem with corrective rape is that the victims of this crime are mainly black African lesbians, particularly those in townships who are seen to challenge patriarchal gender norms. Therefore discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sex and sexual orientation is called into play. Section 9 of the Constitution provides that the state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more specified ground which include gender, race, sex and as well as sexual orientation. Further, no person may unfairly discriminate against anyone on one or more of the same specified grounds. Thus, the black African lesbians affected by corrective rape are protected by the equality provisions of the Constitution upon which discrimination is prohibited. In addition, the impact of discrimination on lesbians is thus rendered more serious and their vulnerability increased by the fact that the victims are black women. In the context of black African lesbians, it is believed that these women are a threat to the manhood as well as cultural beliefs of the perpetrators. Perpetrators, therefore, can justify their actions on the constitutional right to culture. This position obviously reopens the debate on the conflicts between African culture and tradition with human rights within the context of corrective rape which ultimately continues to militate against the adequate protection of women’s rights. Against this background, this research will focus on how South Africa is balancing its constitutional mandate in relation to the black African lesbians affected by corrective rape. It will be argued that for victims of corrective rape to be adequately protected it is necessary to define corrective as a hate crime and not merely the crime of rape. In addition, it will also be argued that because there is an inherent conflict between the right to culture of the perpetrators and the constitutionally protected rights of the victims of corrective rape, courts, in enforcing the rights of these victims should also address this conflict. The importance in recognising this conflict lies in the fact that one needs to take into account that both the perpetrators and the victims are protected by the Bill of Rights and that one cannot disregard the importance of either of their rights.

This thesis is a Minor Field Study carried out in Cape Town, South Africa, during March - May 2022. South Africa is suffering a high level of sexual and gender-based violence. LBGTQI people are extra vulnerable when it comes to sexual and gender-based violence, especially when it comes to corrective rapes. The aim of study was therefore to investigate how people from the LGBTQI community in South Africa understands the problem with sexual and gender-based violence and how they perceive that the Government is addressing these issues. To answer our three research questions, we used focus group interviews to gather data. Our research shows that the sexual and gender-based violence is a widespread phenomenon and is affected by intersectional inequalities. Even though South Africa by law has forbidden any discrimination based on sexuality after abolishing the Apartheid regime, there still seems to be a gap between what the Government is constituting and what the citizens, institution, and society values.

Magister Legum - LLM