HATE CRIMES AGAINST BLACK LESBIAN SOUTH AFRICANS: WHERE RACE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER COLLIDE (PART I)

Abstract

This article, which is the first of a two-part submission, examines the phenomenon of gender-based violence against black lesbian South Africans. The course and incidence of gender-based violence against black lesbians are tracked from both media articles and academic contributions. The various forms of criminal conduct which characterize the phenomenon (including “corrective rape” and murder) are also examined. The article concludes with a limited causal explanation for what has emerged as a serious social problem in present-day South Africa necessitating government intervention in the form of a recently announced Task Team.