Gay rights activists in South Africa are mourning the loss of 24-year-old lesbian Noxolo Nogwaza, who was raped and murdered this week. Most news reports are using the term “corrective rape” to describe her sexual assault. That’s a dangerous phrase…
Sadly, Nogwaza isn’t the first lesbian to face a so-called “corrective rape.” South Africa has seen a spike in such violence in recent years, as ghastly and ignorant men try to “cure” women of their sexuality by forcing intercourse.
In one recent case, the assailant told his victim, “You think you’re a man, but I’m going to show you you’re a woman.”
The epidemic of such attacks has led to an activist movement calling on the South African government to designate “corrective rape” a hate crime, which it most certainly is. The term, however, is also a misnomer, and runs parallel to a debate we’re having here in the United States.
Activists this year were furious that the Republican party, as part of their crusade against federally funded abortions, qualified “forcible rape” as an exception.
Though the GOP eradicated that specific language, a new committee report on the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” specifies that no federal funds shall be used for abortions following “statutory rape,” therefore raising the idea of “forcible rape” once again.
Technically speaking, forcible rape is an accepted term. To the FBI, at least, which uses it to distinguish from “statutory rape:” “Forcible rape, as defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts or assaults to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded.”
Aside distinguishing from statutory rape—a complicated concept, as well, since it includes both a 19-year old having sex with his or her 17-year old partner and a 45-year old doing the same with a 13-year old, which are two different scenarios—referring to a rape as “forcible” is not only redundant, it’s troublesome, allowing the idea that some “rape” is nothing more than “she was asking for it.”
Meanwhile, the term “corrective rape” is just as problematic, implying first, there’s a problem, lesbianism, that needs fixing, and second, that the rape represents a legitimate means to an end. Neither idea is true.
“Forcible” shouldn’t even be entered into the conversation, and “corrective” could easily be replaced with a more even-handed qualifier, such as “homophobic.” But when you get right down to it, rape is rape, and we should call it as such.
May 09, 2011 at 3:03 pm, Rob Gorski said:
This is disgusting and disturbing to say the very least.