London, Jan 26 (IANS) Singer Kelly Osbourne will lead a campaign to protect lesbians in South Africa from an increasing number of brutal sex attacks.
The singer highlighted the practice of ‘corrective rape’ – in which homosexual females are raped in a bid to ‘cure’ their sexual preferences, reports contactmusic.com.
‘Please sign this petition!’ Osbourne posted on her Twitter account, adding a link to a news item detailing the case of Millicent Gaika, a woman pictured with a heavily bruised face from an attack last year.
‘Brave South African activists are risking their lives to ensure that Millicent’s case sparks change. Their appeal to the minister of justice has exploded to over 140,000 signatures, forcing him to respond on national television. If enough of us join in to amplify and escalate this campaign, we could help get urgent action to end ‘corrective rape’,’ reads a statement posted on the campaign website, Avaaz.org.
‘Let’s call on President Zuma and the minister of justice to publicly condemn ‘corrective rape’, criminalise hate crimes, and lead a critical shift against rape and homophobia. Sign the petition now and share it with everyone.’
