A gay woman was stabbed four times by men who accused her of stealing their girlfriends in Crossroads in the Western Cape, the Times reported on Tuesday.
Noxolo Nkosana (23) was getting out of a car on Friday night, returning home after work when two men, both Crossroads residents, approached her.
“They called to me but I didn’t respond. Then they said: ‘Hey you! Fucking tomboy!’,” she said.
“I kept quiet. When I looked back, one of them was coming for me. He stabbed me twice in the back and I fell down. While my partner screamed for help, he stabbed me two more times.”
Men in Nkosana’s neighbourhood told the daily it was wrong for two women to be lovers.
One of her neighbours, Siyabonga Ngxaki (22) said lesbian couples were setting bad examples for children.
“This community does not accept it and they are not a good example to the kids. They should hide what they are doing because the kids will emulate them. I don’t want my baby girl to see them,” he said.
In May, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) called for state and civil action to be taken to prevent “cowardly”, homophobic sexual attacks on lesbians in South Africa.
It is the responsibility of all South Africans to take action on violence against people because of their sexual orientation, the NYDA said on May 11, after further reports of what it said had become a “worrying trend” in South Africa.
“In a country where the Constitution clearly stipulates that no person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone because of their sexual orientation, reports about lesbians being victims of corrective rape and murder have become a worrying trend,” the NYDA said in a statement.
“The NYDA calls upon all South Africans to take action against these ongoing violent attacks … the South African police should act swiftly to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended.
“Community members also have a key role to play by reporting anyone who is suspected of intimidating or harming a person because of their sexual orientation.”
The NYDA was responding to reports of the “corrective rape” of a 13-year-old girl in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, on May 5.
In April, two openly gay women, Noxolo Nogwaza and Nokuthula Radebe, were raped and murdered. The attacks were believed to be motivated by homophobia. – Sapa