Projects Abroad Human Rights Office - Events

On the 5th and 6th August 2011 some of our volunteers attended and supported Free Gender in hosting their first conference which aimed to raise awareness of corrective rape with the police as well as give victims affected by corrective rape the opportunity to share their stories. Here is one volunteer's account of the two days.

Free Gender Conference – 'Ubomi Bethu, Our lives'

Progress in the battle against homophobia and hate crime

"Homophobia and hate crimes are unacceptable", with this statement Deputy Minister of Police, Ms. Makhotso Maggie Sotyu made clear what the position of the ANC-Government is with regard to homophobia and hate crimes. The Deputy Minister made this statement during the first black lesbian conference in the whole of South Africa on August 5th in Khayelithsa, Cape Town.

Free Gender, a grassroots black lesbian organization based in the township of Khayelithsa, initiated this conference in order to celebrate the steps the government has recently made. A Department of Justice Interim Task Team with 6 people representing the judiciary, police and Department of Social Development and 6 representatives of the lesbian and gay community are going to work on violent hate crimes against people with different sexual orientations. One of the latest victims was Noxolo Nogwaza who was raped, stabbed and stoned to death in April this year, because she was a lesbian.

The 2 days conference was organized by Free Gender in cooperation with the South African Police (SAPS). The first day, the theme of the conference was "Working together to end homophobia".

The founder of Free Gender, Ms. Funeka Soldaat, welcomed everyone by emphasizing that it's about time for the government to take action to show that hate crimes are not tolerated. A banner with the question "How many lesbians have to die?" and the names of 8 victims of hate crimes who were killed only because of their sexual orientation, underlined her plea.

The Minister of Woman, children and disabled people Lulu Xingwana put forward that "social acceptance is lacking", but stressed that "homophobia in the form of negative attitudes and prejudice on the part of those who are supposed to help the victim causes secondary victimisation". Or worse, one could say. Because of this the "unconditional apology" of the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Police "to all those that have been brutalised, attacked, discriminated against and raped solely because of their different sexual orientation" is more than justified in this case and is highly important.

The testimonies of two survivors of hate crimes not only showed the impact on women's lives and their strength, but it also made the failure of the police painfully clear. After their testimonies the audience started spontaneously singing a song in Xhosa about the strength of women. In this respect the signing of a pledge by the Deputy Minister of Police on behalf of the ANC-government and by civil organizations cannot only be seen as an important milestone, but also as a necessity. The pledge states that all possible efforts are made "to squeeze hate crimes to zero".

The next day of the conference was devoted to "Our lives". Representatives of organizations involved in women's rights gave their opinion about the steps that should be taken by the Interim Task Team, the Government and the communities to put an end to violent hate crimes. Once the audience got the opportunity to have their say, the police got a lot of criticism. And although a female police officer forced respect by giving her cell phone number saying "I can't respond to all the problems, but I'm available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day", it also made it clear that the relationship between lesbians and the police needs to be restored. It was stated at the end of the conference "We should not be grateful that the police are here today, it's their duty to defend our constitutional rights".

The cry "Viva good police!" was telling.

"Finally the voices of those who lost their lives because of hate against lesbians and gays, are heard", said Funeka Soldaat after the Conference. But Free Gender, a forum founded in 2008 to stand against homophobia, will raise their voices again. Research found that 31 hate crimes have been committed and some remain unsolved or are postponed until now. 86 percent of the lesbians live in fear of sexual assault. The trial of the men who murdered Zoliswa Nkonyana started on August 19 2011 after being postponed for 39 times. On August 31 2011, Free Gender will be picketing outside Wynberg court for a homophobic rape case.

Five days after the conference, August 10 2011, the Interim Task Team started its important job. The Minister of Women hopes the Interim Task Team will finish their work as soon as possible. Let's hope hate crimes are going to belong to the past and let justice be done for those lesbians who died.

In the words of a lesbian at the conference "It's not who we choose to be, it's who we are".

It's only about respect for each other as human beings in our lives. No more, no less.

Joke van der Kwast
2 months, July – August 2011