Jents

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safrica_survivor_jents_1.jpg

Photo:

Linda Forsell

"You wouldn't have recognised me if you'd seen me at the hospital."

safrica_survivor_jents_3.jpg

Photo:

Linda Forsell

"How come I have a child? Well, I don’t really know ... I was drunk."

Jents

I was 17 years old when it happened. I was out with my girlfriend one evening. I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a lesbian. On the contrary; I’m proud of my love. That evening my girlfriend and I got separated around nine o’clock and then I realised that two boys were following me.

South Africa

“We’ll show you what it’s like to be with a real man.”

Name: Jents
Age: 23

I knew one of them. I knew that I had upset him earlier and that they’d decided to teach me a lesson. They shouted “You’re not a man! You’re going to find out what it’s like to be woman!” Then they tore my clothes off, beat me and started to rape me. That’s the last thing I remember.

The police found me and took me to the hospital. You wouldn’t have recognised me if you’d seen me then. They had beaten me with bricks. My teeth had been pushed in and I was in hospital for two weeks. The police started an investigation but it was closed after three months. I don’t know why. I was never given an explanation.

There are many lesbian women who have been subjected to ‘corrective’ rapes.

There are many lesbian women who have been subjected to ‘corrective’ rapes. The men say they will show us “what it’s like to be with a real man”. As if that would change us, or our view of love.

But I’m alive, even though they tried to kill me. I’m still a lesbian, and proud of it. I love my girlfriend. We stay at home most of the time, we don’t go out much any longer.

How come I have a child? Well, I don’t really know … I was drunk. I’m not sure what happened, but I got pregnant. I’m happy it happened. I want children. Doesn’t everyone?

Survivor South Africa KwaThema

South Africa

Maternal deaths: 236 deaths per l00,000 births

Number of children/woman: 2.3 (2011)

Abortion legislation: Right to abortion during the first three months of pregnancy depending entirely on the wishes of the woman. Thereafter up to the sixth month of pregnancy if there are special reasons, such as the health of the woman or an abnormality of the foetus. (2007)

Law against rape within marriage: Yes

Violence against women in close relationships: in 2010 almost 68,000 cases of sexual harassment were reported in a six-month period, most of them rape. It is claimed that almost 28 per cent of the male population have raped a woman or girl. 40 per cent of South African women stated in a report published by the WHO that their first sexual experience took place without their consent.

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