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STORIES OF HATE CRIMES AGAINST BLACK LESBIANS IN SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIPS
BACKGROUND Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW) (formerly Women’sForum) started in January of 2002 in response to the need for a social and political space for black lesbians in Johannesburg and its surrounding townships. FEW is a not for profit networking, support and empowerment organization, formed with the objectives of developing educational, social, cultural, political and economic programmes and initiatives that would serve to empower and support black lesbians in the Gauteng province, and address their many issues. FEW’s flagship programme is “The Rose has Thorns”, an anti-hate crimes campaign, launched officially with a public rally on Freedom Day, April 27, 2003. This campaign fights against hate crimes directed at lesbians, and involves ictim support; community interventions; lobbying and advocacy, for anti-hate crimes legislation and a more effective response from the criminal justice system; research; and service provider training. The campaign was born out of a workshop hosted by the gay and lesbian website organization, Behind the Mask, in September 2002 as part of the Lesbian and Gay PRIDE Community Programme. At that workshop, it became apparent that hate crimes against lesbians in South African townships are a problem of some significance, which requires urgent action. Subsequent investigations and interviews conducted by Zanele Muholi, Community Relations Officer for FEW, show that these crimes range from cold-blooded murder, to abductions, rape, and other more humiliating forms of sexual abuse. During the course of these interviews and other interactions with women in the target group from September 2002 to date, the following themes were explored: * The incidence, nature and types of hate crimes Research methods
As there is no legal framework for dealing with hate crimes as a separate category, there is no legal or “official” definition of a hate crime, so FEW has been working with the following definition developed at the PRIDE workshop in 2002: A hate crime is a wrongful act committed with the intent of causing harm to a person, or depriving a person of some right or benefit, because s/he belongs to a particular group. The key features of a hate crime are: v It is motivated by hatred – not of the individual, but of the group to which s/he belongs. Muholi reports the following findings from fifty (50) interviews she has conducted: Types of attack Victims/Survivors Gender role identity: From this it can be surmised that rape is the most popular form of attack, followed closely by assault; that in most cases the perpetrator is in a reasonably close relationship to the victim; that masculine-looking women are more likely to be targets of attacks; and that young women under the age of twenty-five are particularly at risk.
Perpetrators of hate crimes are driven by the need to punish and/or change the victim. Moreover, by virtue of the, often, close relationship between victim and perpetrator, there is ample opportunity for them to not only nurture their resentment of the victim’s lifestyle, but also to commit the harmful acts. According to one, now remorseful, perpetrator: “It happened in 1996 when me and three of my gangsters raped a lesbian friend of ours…. (my emphasis)
There are a number of (short term and long term) physical health consequences of hate crimes: § Various forms of trauma and injury, sometimes leading to hospitalisation, sometimes death § Pregnancy
* Typical trauma symptoms – sleeplessness, nightmares, despair, fear, helplessness, anger, mistrust, sometimes violent, erratic, even self-destructive behaviour. HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF VICTIMS Like any other trauma victim, the hate crime survivor has real health care needs, including: * Someone to talk to, ask questions of, so as to not feel so alone * Guidance and advice re health and legal issues * Medical treatment * Counselling, trauma debriefing * To feel cared for, and motivation to care for self * Emotional and practical support from family, friends, structured groups * A safe space for healing, such as a shelter, is often a priority In contrast, the response of service providers often reflects the norms and prejudices of the society, hence: The police: Counsellors, social workers, health care workers:
As appears from the research findings, family members often are the perpetrators or instigators of hate crimes against their lesbian and bisexual daughters, nieces, sisters or cousins. Where they are not, they certainly contribute to the trauma in that they There is usually a history of rejection and ill-treatment of the victim, who is often financially dependent on the family.
Service providers and caring professionals need to: • Be prepared to re-define core concepts, like marriage and family • Be willing to learn about, and understand, lesbian experiences and issues • Seek information about available lesbian(-friendly) resources – shelters, specialists, treatment facilities, etc – so they can give referrals. Appendix: Recent cases March 8, 2004 Clearly, we were not being taken seriously and we were being dismissed. “How can the policeman’s colleagues not have the emergency number for a person who handles serious cases?” I asked myself that question. What if the rape survivor is being intimidated by the perpetrator and she needs to report that to the person in charge of the case? What is it that KS’s case is still left hanging and can’t be traced on system since their machines are either down or not available. Sometimes one calls the police station at 15:55 only to find that the person one is looking for is on leave or already knocked off. Three months after KS’sexual assault, her perpetrator began to harass and terrorize her. She had to leave her township and reside at her friend’s place for protection as it was too frightening for her to see and be forced to interact with him. It is not over for KS because she may like to see justice done. May 8, 2004 December 14, 2004 Unfortunately for her, trusting this man was a big mistake, as she became yet another statistic of hate crime. This is how she told her story to me when she was still at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto: ”I was at the nearby tavern not far from my home, and my guy friend joined me as usual for some drinks. I did not suspect anything as the person was no stranger to me. I have known this guy for more than 5 years and my family is aware of our friendship too, so is his sister. I treat him as my brother, but what he did that night is unforgivable. As I left the tavern to buy cigarettes, he followed me. On the way, he started grabbing me, which was quickly followed by a smack and heavy blows. I asked why was he doing that? He told me that he wanted to sleep with me and he forced me to his home. When we got there he continued to bash me, I tried to fight back, but he was stronger than me. The doctor’s note/ examination states that it was attempted rape and assault. T does not remember what happened, as she was unconscious. The other report says that she was given medication for women who have been raped. But all is a mess. The worst thing is that if the doctor’s note is not clear, it makes it hard for the matter to be successfully prosecuted in court, as the court is guided by the medical report. Two days later when I was at the hospital to see T, she was in Maxillo section, where people with face injuries are treated. During the bashing, her teeth were knocked in and badly dented, and she needed surgery. The day before her discharge at the hospital, her mother was there to pick her up, but she had no money. I offered her some, still traumatized by the whole scenario. One day before Christmas, the rapist was arrested by the police, and her mother helped the police to pick him up. Her perpetrator is now out on R3000 bail. T is lucky enough that her mother is on her side, she knew what happened and gave her daughter support. The other two survivors did not have such luck. One lives with her grandmother who is in her 70s and frail. Her mother lives in a different place and does not even know whether her teenage daughter goes to school or not. She had only her other lesbian friends to turn to in order to talk about the rape, and for support. The other lives with her HIV positive aunt who has her own problems to deal with. The problem that lesbian complainants / hate crime survivors are facing is that these rapists are people known to them. It is further victimization and terror to keep on seeing the person who has raped you, freely roaming the streets when you, as the person violated, is living in a state of fear, of not knowing of whether he will assault you again. All three cases are reported, but none know what the outcome will be, as the survivors cannot afford private lawyers and only depending on state representation. With all these interviews, I have realized that rape is rape, lesbian bashing is a gender based violence. Women are raped, bashed, evicted from homes. Others are left with emotional scars forever, whether they report these crimes or not. Media people and journalists have become vultures, and simply want to report about these crimes as an issue of interest, as a sensation. Major steps needs to be taken to combat gender and sexual based violence, as our community is left with a lot of trauma, and the physical and emotional scars from within. Others still become infected with HIV as a result of this crime, and their lives are shortened severely. This can make one feel regret for being a lesbian. Yet it is not a crime to be lesbian, it is human right! As women, as lesbians, as community members, we need help in order to combat these crimes before it is too late. Jump to:Top of Page
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