“Corrective” rape is a hate crime in which a victim is raped because of their gender

identity. The goal is to reinforce societal norms, and turn the victim heterosexual by

punishing them for their “abnormal” sexual behaviour.

Although statistics for “corrective” lesbophobic rape have not been compiled nationally, one support group in Cape Town told ActionAid researchers in 2009, that they deal with 10 new cases every week.

Due to homophobia and heteronormativity, hate crimes based on sexuality are not recognised by authorities (as opposed to race, gender, class, age, etc.).

There have been well over 30 lesbians murdered in South Africa, in the last 15 years, due to their sexual orientation. However, violence against the LGBTQ community in South Africa is still seldom reported. Survivors of “corrective” lesbophobic rape suffer from triple discrimination, for being female, black, and homosexual.

To highlight the plight of affected victims, and raise awareness around their human right to love whomever they choose to. We propose further expanding the campaign beyond print, by identifying appropriate influencers, who’ll spark a conversation on social media using the hashtag: