Cabinet condemns 'corrective rape'

2011-11-10 19:29

Cape Town - Cabinet has condemned the practice of "corrective rape" of lesbian women and wants perpetrators prosecuted, government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said on Thursday.

"Cabinet condemns the senseless and brutal acts of criminality that have been coined 'corrective rape'," he said at a briefing on Cabinet's regular fortnightly meeting.

"Perpetrators who are found guilty will be met with the full might of the law."

Manyi said ministers had received the assurance of the police and justice departments that they would "work very hard" to deal with all violence against women.

He said communities were co-operating with the authorities by reporting cases.

"Society as a whole has been intolerant of these kinds of activities, and they keep getting reported, so I think in partnership with the community at large, police will win (the fight against) this 'corrective rape' scourge."

Earlier this year, the government set up a national task team to combat corrective rape.

Thirty-one women have reportedly been killed in such attacks in the past decade.

Civil rights groups say the practice is on the increase, and the charity Luleki Sizwe claims that as many as 10 lesbians are raped in Cape Town every week.

- SAPA