Introduction

It is established that corrective rape is a form of hate crime applied in an attempt to convert the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community into heterosexuality. The Oxford Dictionary defines hate crime as a crime, typically one involving violence that is motivated by prejudice on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation or other grounds. Carter (2013) the term was coined in South Africa in the early 2000s when charity workers first noticed an influx of such attacks. Louw (2014) asserts that the term has since evolved to include the rape of any lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersexual, asexual or queer (LGBTIAQ) person to get them to “behave” the way heterosexuals do. It is an attempt to “cure” the victims of being gay. The term corrective rape is applied in the world as a punishment for the LGBTIAQ whom are usually women that are lesbian, transgender or do not fit traditional gender roles (Avery 2017). Corrective rape has become an increasing issue within the African continent. Brown (2012) purports that the problem is not unique to South Africa, however, with recent reports of corrective rape in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Jamaica. Brown (2012) claims in a reflection on South African social and cultural norms that gays and lesbians are viewed as unnatural and in need of “curing”. Brown (2012) further asserts that this is evidenced by the fact that perpetrators of corrective rape are not the only ones who believe in its intended purpose which will be discussed in the literature. Louw (2014) asserts that in South Africa, it is more common in rural townships, where women have less independence, education and support systems in place. The interest and pursuing of this topic academically is based on the increased violations of the LGBTIAQ community within African communities as published through the literature by Gaitho (2022), Louw (2014), Avery (2017) and the media. The importance of this topic is that it seeks to explore and understand the underlying issues of citizens against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community which can be either influenced by culture or traditional beliefs.

In as much as women are expected to conform or suffer the consequences, gay men have also been subject to this form of violation. Avery (2017) further argues that the Equality Act of 2000 bans hate crimes based on sexual orientation, but such cases are rarely prosecuted. Various articles which have been published indicate horrific physical violations made against the LGBTIAQ yet there has been minimal justice for the victims (Avery 2017; Barnade-Naude 2011, Strudwick 2014). Strudwick (2014) states that 24 out of 25 cases in South Africa reach trial. The South African Constitution, “Conclusion” section, “Research Objectives and Aim of the Study” section, specifically prohibits discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation; however, there seems to be little that has been done by the justice system in the protection of homosexuals. This research is important as it adds to the body of knowledge in victimology through hate crime.

Problem Statement

It has been estimated at least 500 lesbians a year are victims of corrective rape in South Africa, but societal homophobia keeps many from reporting the crime (Avery 2017). For example, in March 2020 before the celebration of Gay Pride in Cape Town, a lesbian woman was attacked by three men on her way to a shop in Lotus River, a suburb in Cape Town. They proceeded to force her into a nearby shack, hold her down, and gang-rape her to “correct her sexuality” (Duval 2020). Lesbian activist Sizakele Sigasa and her girlfriend were sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered in Soweto in July 2007. The following year, soccer player Eudy Simelane, one of the first South African celebrities to come out as a lesbian, was abducted, gang-raped and killed near Johannesburg. The problem in African communities is the increased activity of violating the LGBTIAQ and normalizing the violation of homosexuals as a cure to transitioning to heterosexuality. This form of hate crime has been increasing in South African communities such as townships and other neighbouring African countries due to the confliction of stipulated gender roles that are in line with of the societal norms and culture. In 2014, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation published a report on the State of Human Rights for LGBTIAQ people living in Africa. The Foundation found that 37 African countries criminalize same-sex marriages and that four of those countries allow for the death penalty. Louw (2014) asserts that a recent United States Department of Human Rights report says that some gay men and lesbians in Zimbabwe have been raped and forced into heterosexual marriages by people seeking to “convert” them. Muluadzi (2018) claims that the hatred geared towards black lesbians living in South African townships is also informed by patriarchal ideas of gender and the power relations surrounding sexual relations between men and women. Below are reported cases on gays and lesbians. Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has made his position clear by stating: “we cannot accept that living unnaturally is a human right” and the “Uganda society has never supported the LGBTIAQ”. Instances of corrective rape in countries such as Jamaica and Thailand have since begun to surface in the media—all in an effort to put an end to this brutal practice (Table 1).

Table 1 Reported cases on gays and lesbians
Full size table

The Love Not Hate campaign (2016) has expressed concerns at the lack of progress in dealing with the killers of lesbians (Love Not Hate Campaign, 2016). The Love Not Hate Campaign (2016) further reported that a gay man was beaten and stabbed, but when he reported the perpetrators, he was the one who was arrested instead. Such cases then prompt questions that begin to scrutinize the effectiveness of the South African Criminal Justice. Furthermore, even though there are a high number of homosexuals who experience crimes based on their gender, the South African Statistics (STATSSA) does not depict such cases of lesbian murder and rape as well as other violent crimes.

A study conducted indicated that 14% of respondents sampled believe that it is acceptable to be violent towards a gay and lesbian person which translates to around 1.26 million people and 300 000 people believe that “it is normal to physically attack foreigners and 190 000 people believe that it is acceptable for a man to hit or beat his partner” (Mosselson and Peberdy, 2010:11).

Research Objectives and Aim of the Study

  • To assess the nature of corrective rape in Pietermaritzburg.

  • To assess the influence of culture on the normalization of corrective rape as a cure for homosexuals.

  • To determine the effects of corrective rape on the LGBTI community.

  • To establish the causes of corrective rape in the community.

  • To determine if the rural community is enlightened about the rights of homosexuals.

The aim of the study is to analyse and establish the communal motives of African communities and the nature of the practice of corrective rape as a cure to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals. The study also aims to address to the gaps in the execution of legislation for the protection of the LGBTIAQ.

Theoretical Framework and Literature Review

The integration of the constructionist theory, social learning theory and the lifestyle exposure theory will explore and support the argument around communal motives in the acceptance of corrective rape in African communities.

Constructionist Theory

Social constructivism theory was developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978). Subramaniam (2014) states that social constructionism is a theory of knowledge that holds that characteristics typically thought to be immutable and solely biological—such as gender, race, class, ability and sexuality—are products of human definition and interpretation shaped by cultural and historical contexts. The grouping or category of “men” or “women” or “race” is based on social perceptions and meanings. This theory is relevant to the study as it illustrates the notion that truths in society are constructed and made into realities. Gender stereotypes are made into a reality by society and anything other than the acceptable gender stereotype is an abomination. Social constructionism focuses on the artefacts that are created through the social interactions of a group; any type of speech is interpreted as a social construction reality from a cultural consensus.

Lifestyle Exposure Theory

One of the first systematic theories of criminal victimization was the lifestyle exposure approach developed by Hindelang, Gottfredson and Garofalo in 1978. The theory was originally proposed to account for differences in the risks of violent victimization across social groups, but it has been stretched to also include property crime. The theory lists elements such as demographic characteristics, age, gender, family income and race in the analysis of the victimization of the minority. This theory is relevant to the proposed research as it suggests that the lifestyle of the victim makes them a suitable target for victimization. A lesbian rape survivor Phumla from Soweto in Johannesburg reported, “It happened when I and my two lesbian friends were driving home with two guys from soccer practice we knew from the township. Instead of them taking us home they took us to a place out of town and when they stopped the car, we tried to get away but one was too fast for me. He grabbed me and dragged me into a house where there was another guy waiting. All the time they kept on telling me that I needed to be taught a lesson, that I wasn’t a man and I needed to act like a girl” (Kollapen 2008:6).

Social Learning Theory

Bandura (1971) asserts that social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation and modelling. The practice of corrective rape is a learnt phenomenon in an African community as the LGBTIAQ community is deemed as a threat to the norms and culture of an African society, not ignoring the insinuation of lesbians and gays being unAfrican. The hatred against the LGBTIAQ is learnt within a community; hence, even the youth in schools are abusive towards gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Kollapen (2008:15) reports that Nomawabo was betrayed by her best friend at school. “He told me to come to his house for a school assignment but when I got to the house we fought until he hit me so hard I collapsed and then he raped me because he said I needed to stop being a lesbian”. Brown (2012:10) argues “that corrective rape in South Africa is not an inexplicable phenomenon. It is steeped in culture, gender inequality, social mores, historical oppression, governmental segregation and a fear of cultural imports from the West”. Brown (2012:10) argues “that corrective rape in South Africa is not an inexplicable phenomenon. It is steeped in culture, gender inequality, social mores, historical oppression, governmental segregation and a fear of cultural imports from the West”.

Nature and Extent of Corrective Rape

Originally, corrective rape was a term referring to a heterosexual male raping a homosexual woman in the attempt to convert them into heterosexuality. The word “corrective”, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is an adjective used to describe something that is intended to “correct” or “counteract” something harmful or detrimental. The definition of corrective exemplifies the thinking of perpetrators in their attempt to correct lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community. Mieses (2013) refers to corrective rape as sexual punishment by African men towards black African lesbians for their sexual attraction towards the same-sex and violating traditional gender norms. The rate of rape is very high in South Africa across all communities. A survey conducted by Carter (2013) found that one in four men admit to having sex with a woman without their consent and nearly a half of these men admitted to raping more than once. However, Gaitho (2022:4) asserts that the term has now evolved to broadly encompass, per Doan-Minh, “the rape of any member of a group that does not conform to gender or sexual orientation norms where the motive of the perpetrator is to ‘correct’ the individual”.

It is not possible to accurately quantify the number of corrective rapes that occur each year because many, if not most, incidences go unreported and of the reported cases it is not clear how many are done with the intent of correcting the victim’s sexuality (Brown 2012). The secondary data (Brown 2012; Smith 2015; Mwambene and Wheal 2015) indicate that victims of corrective rape are captured by men in the community who are aware of the where about of the victims, i.e. a lesbian seen late at night in a bar is expected to walk back home which is when the perpetrator attacks. Other victims are violated by men who they thought had accepted their sexual orientation or a family member. Zukiswa Gaca was raped first at the age of 15, after which she ran away from the rural village situated in the Eastern Cape, a place she called home, as it was easier than to deal with a community which did not accept her as a lesbian. When she was 20, she met a man in a bar who at first seemed fine with her sexual orientation. However, when they left the bar, he attacked and raped her and said that he hated lesbians and that he was going to show her that she was not a man, that he was the real man who had all the power over her.

LGBTIAQ in Africa

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association reported that the majority of the African countries such as Zimbabwe try to diffuse the lifestyle of the LGBTIAQ through forcing heterosexual marriages and through banning anything that is public which has to do with the promotion of the LGBTIAQ. Muluadzi (2017) reported that same-sex relationships are illegal in 32 of 54 African countries, and can lead to imprisonment or even the death penalty. In 2014, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation published a report on the State of Human Rights for LGBT people living in Africa. The Foundation found that 37 African countries criminalize same-sex marriages and that four of those countries allow for the death penalty.

Kenya

Kenya prosecuted 595 people under the Penal Code between 2010 and early 2014, the government reported. According to an article published by Fick (2018), Kenya banned a lesbian love story film called “Rafiki” which was set to open at the Cannes film festival. The Kenya Film Classification Board announced the ban on Friday and said in a tweet: “Anyone found in its possession will be in breach of law”, referring to a colonial-era Kenyan law under which gay sex is punishable by 14 years in jail.

Zimbabwe

Ndiso (2018:1) NGLHRC director Eric Gitari said that the law was used daily to discriminate against LGBT people—from getting a job or a promotion, to renting housing or accessing health and education. If the law is repealed, people will be able to fight from a point of legal confidence.

Malawi

In 2010, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and his partner, Steven Monjeza, were arrested and sentenced for publicly celebrating their engagement, a locally illegal action (The Guardian, 2010). Msibi (2011) asserts that the magistrate, Nyakwawa Usiwa, when handing down the sentence, believed that his actions would deter other people from claiming or publicly demonstrating a homosexual identity. He declared, “I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public [will] be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example”.

Uganda

The backlash against those who engage in same-sex relations in Uganda has mostly been driven by political, cultural and religious fundamentalism. Msibi (2011) states that the bill, for instance, notes that “same-sex attraction is not an innate and immutable characteristic, and wishes to protect the cherished culture of the people of Uganda, legal, religious, and traditional family values of the people of Uganda against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values of sexual promiscuity on the people of Uganda”.

Nigeria

As with Uganda and Malawi, homophobia in Nigeria is directly supported by the laws, culture and religion. In 2006, a piece of legislation known as the “Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act” was proposed with full support of religious—Islamic and Christian—leaders. The legislation was meant to “impose five-year sentences on same-sex couples who have wedding ceremonies, as well as on those who perform such services and on all who attend” (New York Times, 2007).

Effects of Culture and Tradition in the Rejection of LGBTIAQ

Lesego Tlhware (2015:30) from African gay rights group Behind the Mask states, “African societies are still very patriarchal. Women are taught that they should marry men, anything outside of that is viewed as wrong”. This ideology fundamentally asserts that men and women are not equal. African Lesbians experience further alienation, who would only be allowed back into the larger culture if their non-normative sexual orientation changed. Therefore, men subject these women to corrective rape as a “rite of passage” back into the culture, because they believe that this act would force these women to succumb to heterosexuality, and assume their “proper” role in society (Okafor 2013). Fitting into the roles accepted by culture is of importance to African families because non-conformity can be quickly associated with the likes of witchcraft, generational curses, etc. Familial collusion in corrective rape is common, according to researcher Carter (2012) who conducted research on corrective rape in KZN, Western Cape and Gauteng. Simphiwe Thandeka, from Pietermaritzburg (the capital city of the conservative, fervently Christian province of Kwa-Zulu Natal) was 13, and a “tomboy”, when a male relative started asking, “Why do you dress like this?” He raped her in bed one night, putting a pillowcase over her mouth. When she reported the issue to her mother, she told her it was a family issue and did not have to report it. Familial collusion in corrective rape is common mainly because families want to cure their children from being lesbian, gay and bisexual and to avoid bearing the shame of having a member in the family who is deemed to be socially unacceptable.

African communities are not only rich in culture but are strengthened by their religious beliefs which play the role of hope and spiritual guidance for citizens. Barnade (2011:1) argues “that it is true that patriarchal, macho, heterosexist ‘culture’ also plays an enormous role in the perpetration of hate crimes, but it is also true that culture is for most part ‘derived’ from religion and not the other way around”. Religious fanatics who participate in the debate on hate crimes in South Africa invoke the Bible, Koran or another book of religion in order to show us that God (the symbolic name of absolute authority) teaches that non-heterosexual sexual behaviour is abominable and should be corrected. One can argue that religion has played a role in society not accepting the LGBTIAQ because they minister how this lifestyle is against God’s ways but there are many sins which are committed in communities which are against God’s ways but no hate or “curing” is inflicted on them.

Research Design and Methodology

The study took place in Pietermaritzburg which is the capital city of Kwa-Zulu Natal province in South Africa. The city lies in the Msunduzi River valley at the base of a tree covered escarpment inland from Durban. The data were collected in two locations of Pietermaritzburg. The first set of interviews took place in Pietermaritzburg (CBD) at the gay–lesbian network centre (GLN). The second study location was a rural area in Pietermaritzburg known as Elandskop–Sweetwaters under Msunduzi municipality. The rural area is still under the authority of a chief and izinduna in various parts of the community which are known as izigodi.

The study adopted an interpretive research paradigm so as to answer the research questions and objectives. The researcher used a qualitative approach as the study aimed to gain a rich understanding and full insight into the perceptions and experiences of the community of Elandskop–Sweetwaters in Pietermaritzburg with regard to the LGBTIAQ and corrective rape. Arora and Stoner (2009) claim that by using a qualitative researcher methodology, researchers want to collect richer information and get a more detailed picture of issues, cases and event. There are four major types of qualitative research which are phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory and case study. The study implemented a case study design.

The researchers adopted a non-probability sampling approach and used purposive sampling to select the participants. The technique selected participants who were beneficial to the research such as homosexuals who were survivors of hate crime and community members and leader who gave the study a rich understanding of the existing problem.

Seven LGBTIAQ members were sampled from the GLN, including the founder of GLN. There was one bisexual, one intersex, one transwoman, one drag queen and three gay men. The interviews took place at the GLN conference in a separate room. For a more informed input, especially in relation to the gaps in policies, the founder of the GLN who is also part of the LGBTI community was interviewed. The participants interviewed in the community consisted of six heterosexual community members and the community leader known as an induna. There was no specific target age for participants; however, there were no minors involved in the study. In total, the researcher had thirteen participants. The community members were recommended by the induna and were interviewed at isigodlo which is a place where the community leader holds his meetings.

Upon obtaining Ethical Clearance from the Ethics Committee of University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, the researchers were able to apply to the gatekeeper at the gay and lesbian network centre. The application letter was received by the events coordinator who passed it onto the founder of the gay and lesbian network centre. After receiving approval for research in the GLN, the coordinator (who is the youth counsellor at the GLN) extended an invitation to the researcher to come to a GLN conference where the participants that the study needed were going to be present. The researcher applied for gatekeepers from the induna of Elandskop–Sweetwaters in order to gain access to the community and conduct the study. The researcher had a meeting with the induna as he had concerns about the study. All participants were given a choice to participant or not to participate in the study.

Before the interviews proceeded, the participants were thoroughly taken through the consent form. They signed it and the researchers explained that the interviews were going to be recorded with their permission. The consent form was available both in English and IsiZulu. The semi-structured interviews were conducted at the selected facilities in October 2018. Most of the interviews lasted for 30 min. Both primary and secondary collection methods were utilized to increase the validity of the study. Triangulation was used in the study to ensure the credibility of the study and the validity. It is to be noted that the findings of the study could not be generalized to all South African communities due to the small scope of the study and the design of the study. Other than the primary and secondary data, the researcher also observed that when the coordinator introduced and explained the study to the members, different emotions were elicited from the members. Some members excused themselves from participating while other members had concerned expressions on their faces. Other members were not comfortable to be interviewed because they had not recovered from their victimizations. This affected the sample size for the study. The data were analysed using the thematic method.

Study Findings

This section entails the discussion of the findings which were obtained through the interviews with the participants and the researchers’ interpretation of the findings. The data were interpreted with the objective of ascertaining the communal motives in the acceptance of corrective rape as a cure. The names of participants have been replaced with numbers for confidentiality purposes. The findings are presented as verbatim quotations from the participants.

Emerging Themes

Confusion Between Gender and Sexuality

Under this theme, it emerged that corrective rape is a practice that is driven by the motive of changing one’s sexuality to the desired, socially accepted sexuality “heterosexuality”. About 50% of the participants agree that people in communities have a perception that through sexual relations with a lesbian or bisexual they will achieve converting them to heterosexuality. These findings are consistent with Stobie’s (2003) study which asserts that when another Gays and Lesbian of Zimbabwe (GALZ) activist, Tina Machida, came out to her parents as a lesbian at the age of 18, they arranged for her to be raped in the hope of “normalizing” her. The confusion between gender and sexuality in African communities stirs up the motive of the perception of sex changing one’s sexuality.

These are some of the participants’ thoughts in verbatim.

Participant 1 said:

“People focus mostly on the private parts of the person more than their sexuality; they link it up. People always question how am I going to have kids because I am a homosexual, how am I going to have sex?”

Mieses (2013) refers to corrective rape as sexual punishment by African men towards black African lesbians for being homosexual and violating traditional gender norms. One of the motivating reasons for perpetrators against the LGBTI community is to convert their sexuality and for them to function in the nature of their gender.

Participant 4 added:

“People fail to understand that sex doesn’t change a person or their sexuality. A gay man can be forced to sleep with women or a lesbian be forced to sleep with a man but it won’t change their sexuality. I would associate communal motives with ignorance”.

Participant 3 said:

“The lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual people raises eyebrows about gender, masculinity and femininity therefore it’s more like gays and lesbians are in competition with other genders because you would find a gay man being more feminine than women”.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association reported the majority of the African countries such as Zimbabwe try to diffuse the lifestyle of the LGBTIAQ community through forcing heterosexual marriages. African communities are in denial of the truth that the sexual orientation of a person cannot be changed by an event because it is something which lies within the desires and interests that a person has no control over; it is a part of who they are. This theme answers one the research objectives which is to establish the causes of corrective rape in the community.

Gender Roles Versus Gender Equality

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual and queer community is an intimidation to society as it challenges the socially constructed gender roles that have existed for generations. This statement was further supported by the participants.

Participant 8 stated:

“Some people believe that rape can cure individuals that are not complying the gender norms. I can associate it with gender inequality”.

Participant 9 also added:

“ The LGBTIAQ poses a threat to the gender roles or status quo that is acceptable in our communities therefore the act of rape is to put the woman back in their place. Also because of patriarchy in our communities, lesbians and bisexuals will never be accepted as men want to remain as men and women submit to them”.

Participant 6 said:

“Most African communities are driven by religion and since religion stipulates what a man are meant to do and what a female is meant to do, they cannot accept what is between as it makes them uncomfortable. People challenge what makes them uncomfortable”.

Participant 11 answered:

“Traditionally a man is a man and is expected to perform manly duties therefore being gay is not accepted. The same applies with women; the lifestyle of lesbians has contributed to the perception of them being rebellious as they are contradicting what culture has called them to be”.

The argument stands that pressure and influence of patriarchy on the “acceptable” constructed gender roles stems from society. Patriarchy is deeply rooted in the South African culture. This ideology fundamentally asserts that men and women are not equal roles and responsibilities. Research findings of the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW) suggest that black lesbians, particularly in townships where they are seen to challenge patriarchal gender norms, are increasingly targeted for rape. Lesego Tlhwale from the African gay rights group Behind the Mask states, “African societies are still very patriarchal. Women are taught that they should marry men, anything outside of that is viewed as wrong”. The lifestyle of African lesbian and bisexual women poses a challenge to the patriarchal practices in communities due to its non-confirmability to the tradition. These women threaten the existence of men indirectly as they lead a well-rounded, satisfying life—financially and sexually without the presence of men in their lives whereas gay men challenge the future existence of their bloodline due to not reproducing children. Men feel threatened they are in competition with lesbian and bisexual women as they pursue the same women in the community, they do the work, etc., and therefore begin to exert their physical strength over lesbian and bisexual as a means to demotivate them from their lifestyle choices.

Culture and Tradition

African countries are beautiful because of their rich cultures and traditions. The functioning of African communities is embedded in their cultures. The LGBTIAQ is considered unAfrican as it opposes the naturally accepted gender roles.

Participant 12 supported this notion by stating that:

“We were raised according to our culture and tradition and are expected to comply therefore if we do anything that is not our culture it is a problem because it is not who we are”.

Participant 3 answered:

“Culture has determined our role in the family and community from the time we are born. We can’t escape it. Culture says men are the head and the authoritative figures in family and community. This power on men exerted by culture has encouraged men to think that they can have their way in anything. The men that rape lesbian and bisexual women think that as authoritative figures they can reprimand and correct what is socially and culturally unacceptable. The thought of women leading a satisfying life without men is a threat to their ego which is why they fight the woman physically because they are stronger. The truth is men need women more than women need men”.

Culture shapes the way people in communities perceive and understand life. They become accustomed to a particular pattern without questioning its advantages or disadvantages. Culture contradicts itself because within the country practices are done according to the location, i.e. the Zulu kingdom is divided within itself yet they claim to be part of the same tribe. The practice of culture is relevant to the location. Swidler (1993) perceives “mine same-sex sexual relations” as a new type that has developed as a result of male migrant labour to the mines, where men were not permitted to bring their wives. Senior miners would take new miners as “wives” and teach them the ways of the mine and the nature of its work, and offer them protection in exchange for cooking and sexual favours. Swidler (1993) stated that the mine compound “boy-wives” often saved money they received to help them pay ilobolo to marry women in the rural areas. Thus, the sexual relationship in the mine compound was encouraged by social custom not to have lasting effects. In other words, the culture of men being providers and women being domesticated is only applicable to a certain social setting. Dlamini (2006) also traces the conceptions of same-sex sexual relations in traditional Africa and maintains that while there does not seem to have been a name suggesting a distinct category called “homosexual”, the type of behaviour now commonly known by that term was always present.

Participant 5 added:

“Culture has played a role in the unacceptance of the lesbian and gay community. The only time where it is accepted is if someone is a sangoma because they believe that the ancestor that has possessed the sangoma is of an opposite sex and is desiring sexually their preferred sex. African men are stipulated as the head of the family and are entitled to have their way over a woman’s body that mentality makes them think they are entitled to sexually force themselves on lesbians so that they adapt to the culture of marrying men and not women”.

Parrinder (1980) and Swidler (1993) suggest that in some instances, homosexual relations carry some religious and spiritual significance, as in the case of izangoma and izinyanga and other traditional healers. The results have yielded that the only time culture or tradition accepts same-sex relationships is if one is a traditional healer and possessed by an ancestor. It is acceptable because if a female woman is possessed by a male ancestor, then the male ancestor sexually desires a woman and therefore the traditional healer who is a woman can be with another woman intimately. Nkabinde & Morgan (2006: 2) “My feeling is that women sangomas have always used ancestral wives as a way to have secret same-sex relationships”.

Participant 6 elaborated:

“The LGBTI remain in the closet people they are not meeting the expectation that culture has of them. It affects our parents so much because even when rituals are taking place they don’t if to put one on the side with males or on the side of females. Culture has played a huge role in the discrimination against the LGBTI, we have had traditional healers who have claimed that they are able to cure sexual attraction of the same sex and they have failed, they end up hurting them. They use to burn them under their feet which has burnt nerves”.

Though the society are the perpetrators of hate crimes, the real issue of rejection faced by the LGBTIAQ begins in their homes with their families. Traditional practices cause distress on parents of the LGBTIAQ when rituals are to be performed at home because tradition dictates that genders do not mix or sit together during such practices. Women eat alone sitting in a formal manner and men are grouped together by the kraal or around the traditional altar. It is an issue for parents of a gay son or lesbian/bisexual daughter as they are not sure where to put them. Over and above those challenges, false hopes have been insinuated by traditional leaders whom have claimed to be able to “heal” same-sex attraction.

Lack of Awareness Versus Ignorance

Superstitions in African communities are of importance as compared to facts. There are a number of superstitions which are attached to the LGBTIAQ such as it being considered a demonic manifestation or curse.

Participant 6 stated:

“Communities are different and, in my community, it is a belief that being gay is a curse. Even the church I went to, they chased me away and my own family didn’t understand my lifestyle. LGBTI lifestyle is considered new and not from the olden days”.

Others may associate this kind of thinking with ignorance due to the information that has been made accessible. Many practices in communities can be associated with ignorance due to the negative implications they have on an individual and societal level, i.e. the encouragement of males having multiple sexual partners as a sign of manhood.

Participant 4 contributed:

“I think norms in our communities started off without knowledge or understanding of what they were practicing. People practice culture because they were told to do it but they don’t practice it because it is right. For one, in black communities’ one’s manhood is proven right through the encouragement of sleeping with many women. People fail to understand that sex doesn’t change a person or their sexuality. A gay man can be forced to sleep with women or a lesbian be forced to sleep with a man but it won’t change their sexuality. I would associate communal motives with ignorance. People are very ignorant even when they have information”.

The challenge in African communities is the lack of information about the LGBTIAQ; therefore, all sorts of connotations are attached to the LGBTIAQ community. One of the arising themes from the data was the ignorance of people in African communities regarding culture and the LGBTIAQ. In African families, if a daughter or son is homosexual, they are categorized cursed or possessed. Bandura (1971) asserts that social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another, including such concepts as observational learning, imitation and modelling. These insinuations are based on African superstitions and not facts. Therefore, as supported by social learning theory, people practice what they have learnt from each other without questioning if it’s of good or not.

Participant 1 answered:

“Yes, people are aware of our rights but they choose to ignore them because they believe we can change. They know it wrong to rape us but they continue doing it because they have their own motives. People are very knowledgeable; they know how to manipulate the justice system and others because they are well known and feared they take advantage because they know that they are feared so they can get away with murder”.

The gay–lesbian network team has been conducting workshops in a couple of rural areas such as Greytown, working with the chiefs and community leaders in making them aware of the LGBTIAQ. One of the research objectives was to determine if the rural community is enlightened about the rights of LGBTIAQ, and the findings have yielded that generally people in the rural area are not fully aware of the basic human rights. It has been found by the GLN team that people are not even aware of their basic human rights. They live their lives governed by culture and tradition and do not dare challenge it. Therefore, the gay–lesbian network has continued conducting human rights workshops to enlighten people about human rights and the LGBTIAQ.

Participant 6 claimed:

“We have held a lot of workshops in rural areas such as grey town, escort etc. in my professional opinion, I have come to see that they don’t just discriminate against the LGBTI, it is the lack of knowledge and understanding that is a problem. We have held workshops with induna and chiefs and they have given us their time to hear about the LGBTI and the concerns of the LGBTI. I won’t lie it hasn’t been easy, other induna’s have had issues with such meetings. And so far, they listen to the LGBTI”.

Participant 5 continued:

“The issue began when the constitution began recognizing same sex marriages it just became loud in people’s faces without having the communities being taught properly about gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgender, asexual, intersex and queer people. People didn’t and still don’t understand that being a part of the LGBTIAQ is normal especially African people, it was just shoved in their faces”.

Dlamini (2006) asserts that, despite the difficulties of acquiring accurate data about the LGBTIAQ among blacks, gays and lesbians, in one form or another, is known to have always existed in Africa, and South Africa is no exception. One of the participants stated that based on her conversations with the elderly, same-sex relations are not a foreign concept but it was not something that was a public spectacle. One can argue that the discomfort around the topic of same-sex relationships is that is it a public phenomenon and it is legal whereas it was something known to be hidden. When same-sex marriages in South Africa were legally recognized, more people came out in the open about their sexuality—something that was initially private became known.

Religion

Religion is one of the contributing factors to the norms and values that govern a community. It is without doubt that religion has titled gays and lesbians as an act of abomination. About 60% of the study participants have agreed to the role of religion against the LGBTIAQ.

Participant 2 said:

“I blame religion because they are the ones who always preach that we are demonic and they influence the people of the community, people have that mentality that we are not normal we have demons so they don’t want to associate with us. They don’t understand us more awareness’s need to be done”.

Participant 1 added:

“The LGBTI people are discriminated against when they go to church. For Muslims its wrong, the Curran is more like the bible some of the chapters are in the bible. It is forbidden; actually, for almost all religions it is forbidden. It plays a role in how people perceive the LGBTI community because when they are attack us, they always hide behind religion”.

Barnade (2011) argues that it is true that patriarchal, macho and heterosexist “culture” also plays an enormous role in the perpetration of hate crimes, but it is also true that culture is for most part derived from religion and not the other way around. Religion has been used as a reason for people’s homophobia. Religion in African communities is very dominant especially Christianity and the Islamic. Communities are not only shaped and strengthened by culture and tradition but it is religious beliefs which also bring hope and a sense of direction for people. Participant six who is a youth counsellor at the gay–lesbian network centre stated that once a gay man was beaten up by men at the Shembe religious gathering and when they went to intervene with the legislation, they were told that they cannot govern their church with worldly standards. Participant two who is a drag queen claims that he was chased away from church and people in his community have labelled him as being possessed by a demon. Just as it is hard to challenge the culture which is embedded in African communities, it is even harder to challenge religion which is held as dearly as it speaks of the supernatural power.

The impact of media in the perception of LGBTIAQ.

Participant 1 said:

“The media has a huge impact on the discrimination against homosexuals. The way the media portrays the LGBTI is very wrong, even in the soapies they are misrepresented. Its either there is immorality attached to the character or they are comedians. So, what does this say about the LGBTI community, that we are funny? We are gimmicks? We are never portrayed as serious people yet there are homosexuals that are well established in their careers while others are pursuing their studies however the media doesn’t portray that aspect”.

Participant 8 claimed:

“The media has portrayed the LGBTIAQ as a lavish lifestyle which I believe has made it look like an interesting life to the youth especially if you look at celebrities like Somizi or GC. To the elderly it’s just a nuisance demonic lifestyle being thrown into their faces by the media which has made it even more difficult for them to accept it”.

The media has portrayed a rather stereotypical aspect of the LGBTI, i.e. partying, promiscuity and so forth. This has given the elderly an idea that their children in communities are adopting this lifestyle due to what is being exposed to them in the media and that the sexual preference is not something they are born with but rather an imitation of what they are perceiving in the media. According to Lezette Engelbrecht, University of Pretoria, (2010), many harmful stereotypes exist, and individuals are seen as deviant and immoral rather than normal people who happen to have a different sexual preference.

Conclusion

The findings of the study have concluded that lesbian and bisexual women are raped in African communities due not complying with the socially constructed gender roles. African men force themselves sexually on women in the attempt to remind them that they are women and to correct their sexuality. Same-sex relationships existed during the past generations, but it was a private matter whereas this generation is publicizing it which makes it more unbearable for communities because it is known as something that was hidden because of its nature. The truth is gays and lesbians in African communities which are deemed as a curse or demon but is culturally acceptable if a woman is a traditional healer possessed by a male ancestor. One can conclude then that culture favours itself and in most cases contradicts itself. The wait for the Hate Crime bill to be passed as an Act continues, and it has already been a wait of 10 years. South Africa has many polices in place but implementation is a problem so more workshops need to be held for the public sector and communities about the policies so that they are implemented and effective. There is progress of creating awareness of the LGBTIAQ as the gay–lesbian network team has been conducting workshops in various rural areas with the chiefs. The study has failed to discover why heterosexual men rape gay men in the essence of correcting their sexuality as other literature states. The researchers have come to the conclusion that in rural areas, the LGBTIAQ is taboo and a sensitive issue as the community members did not want to participate in the study. Victims in rural areas do not report the incidents because they are afraid of being re-victimized by the police and being ridiculed in the community, and families continue to claim that it is an issue between families and it should not be publicized. Victims in rural areas are also misinformed about the procedures in reporting crime.