Tuesday, May 12, 2009

A 1x6 Discussion

Every other Wednesday, 6 very different bloggers will come together to answer a single question. ** To view the speakers blog, simply click on their name and it will link you to their page**


Topic: What do you think about corrective rape in South Africa and its human rights consequences?

Aricia: I will try to be as gentle with this as possible. I will say first and foremost that I do NOT agree with corrective rape. HOWEVER, what people tend to forget, is that this a completely and totally DIFFERENT culture then how things are in America. That doesn't mean I condone it, but people need to understand that there are a LOT of different things that happen in other countries that Americans wouldn't agree with, for example: some cultures remove a girls clitoris, before she's a teenager, while others simply sow close there vaginas. I, like other Americans, find this sort of thing repulsive, and barbaric, but it happens and it's apart of their culture. I regret that this so called "corrective" rape happens to women and children, but I try not to judge and keep an open mind about the culture. Granted every culture has their dark side... and maybe this is South Africa's.


Abrowngirlgonegay: I don't know when people are going to realize that this is not a chosen lifestyle. Being homosexual is not something that can be prayed away, treated with therapy, or cured by rape. We are who we are and we don't deserve to live our life in fear because of it.

I can't imagine living in a country where my basic human rights were not acknowledged. I should be able to go about my business, loving who I want without fear of being attacked. To be attacked and then have my country basically say it's okay would make me feel so insignificant, like a second class citizen, very much like how crimes against slaves were seen back in those times.



BWABW: "Corrective" rape in South Africa absolutely appalls and disgusts me. I simply cannot understand the logic behind it... probably because hate is usually grounded in illogical. If someone disagrees with homosexuality and feels it is a moral sin, how can something like rape,which is immoral in and of itself, correct something else that the same person believes is supposedly immoral? It just doesn't make sense. The same goes for people who physically or verbally harm homosexuals or "Christians" that judge them. That mentality is simply hypocritical. I don't care where you stand on the gay rights issues. This is a HUMAN rights issue and it is wrong, wrong, wrong to physically harm someone because you don't condone their lifestyle. I would never advocate hurting a homophobe because of his/her beliefs. There is no justification, no matter how you look at it. The individuals that perform "corrective" rape need to be persecuted for their actions (and I don't mean death penalty because I am also against that). Communities in South Africa (and all over the world) also need to start, if they haven't yet, talking about how they can protect women, fight this mentality, and heal.


Steadycat: There is no such thing as corrective rape. What a nasty excuse for a male dominated culture to not only rape vulnerable women but to get applauded by other men for doing so. If rape was a corrective measure, the we should allow fathers to rape their daughters for making bad grades in school. Or better yet, if she has a deformed leg, he can rape her until the leg straightens out and she no longer limps. * Spits * I refuse to call what they're doing corrective rape. It is gang rape of vulnerable women in a male controlled society that doesn't give a damn about its females. Tomorrow they can gang rape because they don't like the weather.


Stud with Swag: Corrective Rape. These fourteen letters weren't joined together as one by the Victims of the crime itself, but born of the justification of their attackers and those who turn a blind eye to the brutality of the crime. The term "corrective" adds insult to an already devastating injury because lesbians are also being targeted for and threatened with murder for living openly and in fear simply because they are gay. Rape is rape not matter the reason given or name applied and it's never acceptable. The fact is South African women and children are the leading victims rape according to the current statistics. The laze-faire attitudes and lack of concern for the welfare of women and children in the country are breeding grounds for violent crime.

It leaves me to wonder what kind of society finds normalcy in violence against women and children and how many more other crimes go unreported. It suggests that the lack of legal convictions further condones the mindset and attitudes. I learned that recently sworn in president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, was acquitted of a rape many felt him guilty of committing a few years ago. This presents an unusual set of circumstances considering homosexuality is considered "un-African" in the region. Homophobia gets a government sponsored pass and women and children suffer a sexual assault every 17 seconds. It's not so much a matter of waiting to see if bias will come into play since he was once charged as a rapist, it's a matter of not allowing it to. Homosexual men aren't being raped so while the word does accurately apply, the fight against rape is all encompassing and tireless it must be waged and won within the South African community. Unfortunately, the human rights consequences aren't enough to stop this devastation from occurring.


Glennisha Morgan: When I first learned about the corrective rape that takes place in South Africa (and a few other countries as well) I was extremely hurt and disgusted. The fact that people actually think rape is going to change someone's sexuality is just insane. I was raped before for whatever reason but, I can't imagine being raped simply because I'm a lesbian. Not to say that this probably has never happened before in the United States but, I know that in some other countries they feel like they're doing a good thing. I had watched a documentary on this where the men felt like they were actually going to "cure" lesbians by raping them. It's just amazing to me how in some other places behavior like this is acceptable. It always makes me feel grateful about living in the United States. Here we fight against things like Proposition 8 but, we don't have to worry about possibly getting raped or attacked just for being homosexual. Again, not to say that attacks against homosexuals don't take place here but, they are definitely at a minimum compared to other countries.I've always been against people going into other countries in attempt to change their way of life or lifestyles but, when it comes to issues like this I feel like action needs to be taken. The question is what type of action? How can you attempt to change someone's mindset when they feel as if what they're doing is right and some places they feel as if they're doing the work of God.

8 comments:

  1. I couldn't care less what cultural differences exist in other parts of the world when it comes to this matter. The only thing that matters is that EVERYONE has a basic human right to be the deciding voice in what happens to their body.

    When men decided that they are doing lesbian women a favor by raping the gay out of them, they should be just as open to other men or women making decisions about their bodies. For example, how about we decide that these men should have their scrotums removed or that we should anally rape them to cure their stupidity? Would the go for it. NO. So why does it make sense to them to do this to women?

    It all amounts to sexism and exploitation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Billione- AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Corrective rape is about as sensible as female circumcision and the marrying of little girls and teens to men. It is the result of male dominance gone amuck; it is the belief that the Divine needs help from male superiority to "correct" a woman's heart and "redesign" her body and "punish" her for being born female and having the gall to desire and love another female; it is another excuse to satisfy the male's urge to have sex and exert sexual dominance. And it makes about as much sense as deciding a woman warrants a death sentence for a premarital pregnancy while her partner in the act receives averted eyes or a pat on the hand.
    No matter where women and girls are on Mother Earth, no matter the culture from which they come, RAPE IS WRONG.
    May God bless us all....
    Besos y bendiciones,

    ReplyDelete
  4. "The only thing that matters is that EVERYONE has a basic human right to be the deciding voice in what happens to their body." Couldn't have said it better Billione.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I read about this a month or two ago. I couldn't blog about it because thinking about what females are enduring at the hands of ignorant and sadistic sh*ts angers me greatly. The ones who carry the label "men" are barbarians who obviously have the brain of a ant if they think their penis are magical enough to make a woman sexually brutalized by them suddenly want men. Some idiots think they have the support of god and religious institutions because the Bible has stories about god killing certain people while he favors others. And while religious factions preach against homosexuality, they don't speak out about the many forms of abuses against homosexuals. I would like to hear what the pope has to say about females being raped to "cure" their homosexuality, since prayer obviously doesn't work. Some governments are imprisoning and killing people for being homosexual, so what does it matter that women are being raped, after all that is what most promote, that women's bodies are for men. And for women, such as myself, who don't conform and have sex with men, we are treated differently than the women who willingly let men use their bodies whether they enjoy it or not.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I still stand by what I said earlier... This is a different culture... therefore their mindset is not the same. I said I don't agree with it and I don't, but you can't impose your beliefs on a different culture. Clearly, the majority of the people there agree with that law, or rule or whatever it is OR they'd do something to change it. I'm sure everyone's heard that if you're a gay male in Jamaica and they catch you they cut off your genitalia and throw it in a fire... CLEARLY the gay men object to that just as much as the women in south africa but that's how it works there and I say if they want change then change it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm actually from South Africa and while I'm well schooled in debates of cultural relativism there are times where you do have to just draw a line and say, this is wrong and the people who are doing this are wrong. As Knowledge pointed out, the problem is rape in South Africa, period. We have the highest rate in the world for a number of reasons: extreme poverty, people living on top of each other thus making women extremely vuilnerable to any man who wishes to have his way with her. Furthermore, as in most countries, it is a crime which is just not really backed up by the legal system. You basically have to pitch up at the court with a few broken legs and sperm running down your leg to prove that you were actually coerced into sex. The legal system is dominated by men and in a culture as saturated with machismo as ours is, it's always the woman's fault - she just gave the poor guy the wrong message shame. Rape is literally considered an 'easy crime' the convictions are so low. Fatal Attraction, of course a lot of people don't agree with the law and there are many many tireless campaigners picketting rape trial after trial (I myself attended one where a man had raped over fifty women and still gotten out of jail after a few years) but it's not easy to fight something which is so institutionalised within every aspect of society. And of course, to make matters worse, we have a president who used the excuse that 'she wore a short skirt' in his rape trial setting an example for the rest of South African men. I'm sure you know we have one of the most progressive constitutions in the world declaring that no one should ever be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation, race, gender etc etc - we can even get married - but unfortunately this constitution is just a fancy piece of paper and its ethos is not always lived out in practice. 'Curative rape' as it is called is a part of the larger rape problem in the country BUT it is very problematic to view it asuch as well. This, you see, is how the government, and the the rest of the world actually, is able to cast a blind eye to the problem. These women ARE being targetted because they are lesbians going against the grain of patriarchy. The men perhaps feel that they have no power over them and accordingly want to reclaim that power that they believe they should have righfully as males. Watch this video for an idea of how the men think:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzajfLLUZc

    Dont think for one second that this is just an isolated problem in an already violent country, there are men all over who think like this. It just may not be as easy for them to act on it, and get away with it, as it is in our country.

    ReplyDelete