In November of 2008, Ubuntu Now announced a partnership with Sonke Gender Justice– a South African organization that promotes social awareness of gender issues relating to the local HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Today, we are pleased to introduce a new member of the Ubuntu Now / South Africa Project network: the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Program [TVEP].

Like Sonke Gender Justice, TVEP focuses on raising awareness for social issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Whereas Sonke Gender Justice’s ‘One Man Can‘ initiative places its attention on male education and Rape Prevention, TVEP takes a look at the other side of the equation. Their admirable focus is on building a supportive, educational, and healing environment for the victims of rape– as well as those of HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and child abuse. Furthermore, they have localized their efforts to the munincipality of Thohoyandou in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Read More…

Posted under Gender equality, HIV / AIDS, Post-rape care

It is with disgust and incredulity that I read daily about the heinous crime of “corrective rape” that is still taking place on the streets of South Africa, especially in the “African Townships” (basically poorer suburbs inhabited by Africans, such as Soweto, Gugulethu, Langa, Kayalitsha etc.) Corrective rape is “the rape of a lesbian by a man either to punish her or cure and correct her sexual orientation”.

Despite South Africa having a very liberal constitution, which forbids discrimination against LGBTs ( Lesbians, gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered persons), lesbian women are constantly being targeted in hate crimes, where the aim is for lesbian women, especially “butch” women to be beaten up and raped (often gang-raped) to “teach them what they are and what a woman should be like”,  sometimes by their own male friends. Read More…

Posted under Gender equality