Content warning. A lesbian teenager has been raped at a South African pride event, and activists believe she was targeted because of her sexuality. The young woman was attacked after Limpopo Pride in Polokwane on Saturday. A man who offered to help her with directions grabbed her and raped her in a graveyard. She was able to escape, found help, and called the police who returned to the scene and arrested the alleged rapist. “She is very traumatized. The man knew she is a lesbian and he raped her,” Cindy Molefe from the Limpopo LGBTI Proudly Out group told Mamba Online “This is the very reason why we are marching on the streets.” Mamba Online says South Africa has been plagued by a string of rapes and murders of lesbian women in recent years, leading to an international outcry and government and civil society efforts to address the crisis.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 15th May 2014 - 8:44am