[m2c] South Africa: Lesbians Targeted for Murder

Fri Aug 10 09:12:46 MDT 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alison Roh Park <alisonpark at gmail.com>
Date: Aug 10, 2007 10:24 PM
Subject: [incitechapters] ISRRC - South Africa: Lesbians Targeted for Murder
To: incite philly <incite_philly at lists.riseup.net>,
incitechapters at lists.riseup.net

    *For Immediate Release*

**

*South Africa: Lesbians Targeted for Murder*

*A Climate of Violent Homophobia Mars South Africa's Celebration of Women's
Day*

(New York, August 9, 2007) – The recent brutal murders of three lesbians
show that South Africa's constitutional promise of equal protection has yet
to become a reality, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to President
Thabo Mbeki. As the country celebrates National Women's Day – the 51st
anniversary of women's resistance to the apartheid-era pass system
restricting free movement – a climate of violent homophobia and sexism
demands government action to make its commitment to equality and tolerance a
reality for the nation's gays and lesbians.

On July 8, the bodies of Sizakele Sigasa, age 34, and Salome Masooa, age 24,
were found in a field in Meadowlands, Soweto. Sigasa had been shot six
times; Masooa had been shot once. Sigasa was openly lesbian and an activist
for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS as well as lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people's rights. In another case, believed
to be unrelated, the body of Thokozane Qwabe, age 23, was found in a field
in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, on July 22. She had multiple head wounds and
was naked. Local nongovernmental organizations have informed Human Rights
Watch that, based on how the bodies and clothing were found, they suspect
rape in both cases.

"Despite legal commitments to equality for all, lesbians in South African
townships are still targeted for rape and murder," said Jessica Stern,
researcher in the LGBT Rights Program of Human Rights Watch. "Poverty,
prejudice, homophobia and sexism are building a new pass system, where many
women dare not walk openly on the street."

Police have refused to speculate on whether the victims' sexual orientation
was a motive for the murders. They have detained, but not arrested, four
people in connection with the murders of Sigasa and Masooa, and have
reportedly arrested and charged a suspect in Qwabe's death.

South Africa's 1996 constitution contains landmark equality protections that
made it the first constitution in the world to bar discrimination based on
sexual orientation.  However, inequality as well as violence persists.

A mob murdered Zoliswa Nkonyana, a 19-year-old lesbian in a Cape Flats
township in March 2006. A friend walking with Nkonyana escaped and later
recounted how the mob accused them of being "tomboys" who "wanted to be
raped." "More Than a Name," a joint report of Human Rights Watch and the
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, documented the
experiences of lesbians who survived rape or lived in perpetual fear of
rape, as well as partial or inadequate investigations by authorities into
allegations of homophobic abuse. (Please see:
http://hrw.org/reports/2003/safrica/)

"Lesbians' lives are not expendable," said Stern. "On National Women's Day,
South Africa's government must honor 50 years of women's struggles against
racism and injustice by affirming that all women and vulnerable groups must
be safe and free."

National Women's Day, held on August 9 in South Africa, celebrates the 1956
demonstrations by thousands of women against racist, apartheid-era pass laws
restricting free movement.

Human Rights Watch called on the South African government to ensure that the
ongoing investigations of these murders are thorough and impartial, and can
lead to the identification and successful prosecution of those responsible.
It also emphasized the importance of recognizing that the victims' sexual
orientation and gender may have been a motivating and aggravating factor in
the crime. It urged the government to reaffirm equality before the law and
to launch public education campaigns to eliminate homophobic prejudice in
all walks of life. It called on police and other authorities to work closely
with groups working for LGBT and women's rights in pursuing investigations,
developing effective policies, and in building trust with their communities.
Human Rights Watch also urged constitutional bodies charged with promoting
equality – including the Human Rights Commission and Gender Equality
Commission – to take up issues of sexual orientation and gender identity
meaningfully and directly.

*To view the letter from Human Rights Watch to President Mbeki, please
visit: *

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/08/safric16618.htm

*For more of Human Rights Watch's work on LGBT rights, please visit: *

http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=lgbt

*For more information, please contact:*

In New York, Jessica Stern:    +1-646-549-0130 (mobile)

In New York, Scott Long:    +1-212-216-1297 ; or    +1-646-641-5655 (mobile)

+++++++++++++

Letter:

President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki

Private Bag X1000, Cape Town, 8000

Tuynhuys Building, Parliament Street, Cape Town

South Africa

August 8, 2007

Dear President Mbeki,

On South Africa's National Women's Day, I write on behalf of Human Rights
Watch to express our concern over the recent murders of three women:
Sizakele Sigasa, Salome Masooa, and Thokozane Qwabe.  Thokozane Qwabe's body
was found on July 22; Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa's bodies were found
on July 8.  All three women were lesbians.  These women may be the latest
victims of a pattern of violence against lesbians who are targeted in their
families and communities on the basis of their sexual orientation.  Human
Rights Watch calls upon the South African government to honor National
Women's Day by ensuring those responsible for the murders are brought to
justice and by affirming that all women, regardless of their sexual
orientation, should be entitled to equality and safety.

On Sunday, July 8, the bodies of Sizakele Sigasa (age 34) and Salome Masooa
(age 24) were found in a field in Meadowlands, Soweto.  Sigasa was an open
lesbian and an activist for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) communities and people living with HIV/AIDS.  Sigasa had
been shot six times in the head and neck.  Masooa had been shot once in the
head.  Some of Sigasa's hair was pulled out, and her underwear was tied
around her hands, raising suspicion of rape or other sexual assault.
Forensic evidence has not yet determined whether rape occurred.  The women
were last seen alive at a gathering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) friends on July 7. They had left to accompany a friend
home but failed to return to the gathering as expected.

On Sunday, July 22, the body of Thokozane Qwabe (age 23) was found in a
field in Ladysmith, Kwazulu-Natal.  She had multiple head wounds and was
naked, her clothes discarded several hundred feet from her body, raising
suspicion of rape or other sexual assault. Human Rights Watch is unaware of
whether forensic evidence has determined whether rape occurred.

We note that police investigations into these latest murders are underway.
A man seen with Thokozane Qwabe the night before her death has reportedly
been arrested and charged with her murder.  Police have detained, but
apparently not arrested, four people in connection with the murder of
Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa.  We welcome that these investigations
have been prompt, and urge you to ensure that they are also thorough,
impartial and capable of leading to the successful identification and
prosecution of those responsible. The police and prosecution should also
take into account the possibility that the crimes may have been motivated by
the victims' sexual orientation as well as gender.

Despite South Africa's standard setting Constitutional protections for
lesbians and gay men, and consequent legal advances, reports of endemic
violence, including violence against lesbians based on their sexual
orientation, persist. Human Rights Watch has previously documented on-going
discrimination against women and children in general and lesbians in
particular.  In March 2006, a mob murdered Zoliswa Nkonyana, a nineteen
year-old lesbian in a Cape Flats township.  A friend walking with Nkonyana
escaped, to recount how the mob accused them of being "tomboys" who "wanted
to be raped." *More Than a Name*, a joint report of Human Rights Watch and
the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, documented
patterns of violent harassment of lesbians and the particular vulnerability
of black and mixed-race lesbians in townships.

South Africa's 1996 constitution contains landmark equality protections that
made it the first constitution in the world to bar discrimination based on
sexual orientation. Section 9(3) of the Constitution states: "The state may
not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or
more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic
or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion,
conscience, belief, culture, language and birth." The fundamental principle
of equality before the law imbues all provisions of the Constitution:
"Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and
benefit of the law."   The Constitutional Court has consistently affirmed
that discrimination based on sexual orientation has no place in the new
South Africa.

In recognition of National Women's Day, we urge you to ensure that the
criminal justice system is capable of responding sensitively, effectively,
and promptly to incidents of sexual and hate-based violence.  A full
investigation of these murders, weighing the possibility that the women's
gender and sexual orientation may have been motivations for their murders,
is vital not only to achieving justice but to building trust between the
South African Police Service and lesbian communities broadly. Police and
other authorities should work closely with groups working for LGBT and
women's rights both in pursuing investigations and developing effective
strategies and policies to improve protection.

We are heartened that the South African Human Rights Commission has met with
LGBT community leaders to address the recent murders. It is urgent that all
institutions charged under Chapter 9 of the Constitution to promote human
rights and equality develop specific, staffed mechanisms to oversee the
constitutional mandate that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and gender, and to receive complaints if discrimination occurs.

We recognize President Mbeki's publicly declared commitment to increase
efforts to combat gender-based violence, such as the introduction of the *365
Days for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign*.  A component of
this work must be specific public education campaigns to counter prejudice
based on sexual orientation, gender and gender identity.  Amid a general
crisis of rape in South Africa, it is critical that the specific
vulnerabilities of particular communities be recognized as a part of any
campaign for change.  Furthermore, we urge your government to establish more
effective means to record and track crimes, so that violence against
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, as well as other vulnerable
groups, can be identified and addressed.  Finally, we urge you to undertake
public education campaigns to counter prejudice based on sexual orientation,
gender and gender identity.

On August 9, 1956, thousands of women demonstrated in opposition to the
apartheid era pass laws.  They sent a message that "You strike a woman, you
strike a rock."  It is not enough for the government of South Africa to
honor women's historical courage symbolically; it must honor all women,
including lesbian women, with an active commitment to protect their lives.

Sincerely,

Jessica Stern

Researcher

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program

cc:

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Deputy President

Jackie Sello Selebi, National Commissioner, South African Police Service

Joyce Piliso-Seroke, Chairperson, Commission for Gender Equality

Jody Kollapen, Chairperson, South African Human Rights Commission

Charles Nqakula, Minister, Ministry of Safety and Security

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