Two men who are alleged to have brutally raped a young KwaZulu-Natal woman who identifies as a lesbian have been released on bail, reports the Gay & Lesbian Network (GLN).

The 17-year-old girl from Watersmeet, just outside of Ladysmith, who is open about her sexual orientation (she identifies at a butch lesbian), was viciously attacked and raped last month by two men who reside near her home.

This is the third time in her young life that she has been raped by men who believe that raping a lesbian will ‘turn her heterosexual’ and make her ‘a real woman’.

This is known as ‘corrective rape; the use of rape against people who do not conform to perceived social norms regarding human sexuality or gender roles. According to GLN, this means the rape was premeditated, intentional and accompanied by malicious intent.

The bail hearing for the alleged rapists – one is 22-years-old and the other is 20-years-old – has been continuously postponed. On Monday (4 December 2017), they were eventually granted bail by the Magistrates Court in Ladysmith, at a sum that GLN described as a “measly R1,000 each”.

Appallingly, it is alleged that this is the second time that one of the alleged perpetrators has raped the victim. Read more via Mamba Online