Emily
MikeAs I wrote about a couple months ago, Eudy Simelane, South Africa’s openly gay female football star, was brutally raped and murdered in April 2008, by a gang of men seeking to “correct” her homosexuality. Tuesday, three men faced trial for her murder.
“Ach, I’m not sorry at all.”
Those were the words uttered by Themba Mvubu, one of the three men, who received a life sentence. His trousers were stained with Simelane’s blood, and he had no explanation. The other two men were acquitted.
The trial brought to the forefront issues of violence in South Africa, as well as LGBTQ acceptance. According to the BBC, instances of violence in South Africa have peaked as of late:
Annual crime statistics released on Tuesday show a 10% rise in sexual offences against women and men – with 27,750 rapes committed between April 2008 and September 2008.
As far as South African LGBTQ issues, the New York Times notes that during the trial, the Judge expressed discomfort at even hearing the term “lesbian,” asking the prosecutor:
“Is there another word that you can use instead of that one?”
Using another word is besides the point; the Judge’s discomfort is with the idea of lesbians. This is by no means a particularly South African problem, but “corrective rape” is. The element of her sexuality cannot be ignored, since it was a contributing factor to her murder. The NGO ActionAid and South African Human Rights Commission have called upon South Africa’s government to specifically target these sexuality-based hate crimes. Although government officials continue to decry the general increase in violence, they have yet to address the LGBTQ hate crimes.
Filed under: GLBT, International, Law, Violence Tagged: | corrective rape, eudy simelane, lgbt, LGBTQ, south africa
