A Very Scary Story

Image via flickr

In my previous blog posts I expressed my disappointment and dismay over the lack of progress the United States had made when came to gay marriage, civil rights for gay and lesbian couples and being on the forefront of liberal, progressive ideology. However, when I see a story like this, I am not only deeply concerned about what is going on in other parts of the world, but I am also reminded that the fight for equal rights for everyone is a process that will take a long time. This is not something that can be solved over night, or resolved after one generation. The women in this country are constantly living in fear of being raped just for their sexual preference and can not rely on their government to help them. In the article it said that the country's 'macho politics' lead to a lack of action which is very confusing since I don't understand what macho politics would have to do with anything, or why anyone would not just want to lend a helping hand out of the goodness of their heart. It is almost unimaginable to me that according to the article 86% of black lesbians from the Western Cape said they lived in fear of sexual assault. The group also said it deals with up to 10 cases of "corrective rape" every week.

"What we're seeing is a spike in the numbers of women coming to us having been raped and who have been told throughout the attack that being a lesbian was to blame for what was happening to them,"

I really do not know how any group of people can live like this. It makes me very sad to read this and very pessimistic about the views and ideology of this area. I give a lot of credit to this group, who is really doing such amazing work and trying to defy the odds, given the amount of work they have each week. They are really wonderful people, and I hope they can help all the women who see them.