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Gay news: Crimes against gays and lesbians are rarely reported because 'Victims are afraid to speak out'
Mugabe: homsexuality a "white man's disease"
US State Department reports 'corrective rape' in Zimbabwe
The US State Department's annual report on human rights in Zimbabwe has revealed that gays and lesbians there face harassment and even "corrective rape" by those intending to convert them to heterosexuality.
Lesbians were raped, sometimes by male relatives, and gay men were forced into heterosexual acts, according to Amanda Porter, political officer at the US Embassy in Harare and compiler of the report.
"Some families reportedly subjected men and women to corrective rape and forced marriages to encourage heterosexual conduct," Associated Press reported her saying on Tuesday.
Porter added that hate speech by politicians against Zimbabwe's gay community had increased the social pressure on families, with crimes committed against gays and lesbians rarely reported to the police. "Victims are afraid to speak out," she said.
Two weeks ago, President Robert Mugabe and prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai agreed that Zimbabwe's new constitution will include no provision for gay rights, and Mugabe has described homosexuality as "un-African" and a "white man's disease", and gay people as "worse than pigs and dogs".
Male homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe, and although there is no legal reference to women, the additional 'sexual deviancy' law of 2006 made any actions perceived as homosexual between two people of the same sex illegal.
Although there have been no reported prosecutions related to consensual homosexuality in recent years, the offence carries a penalty of up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $5000.
The report also found that gays and lesbians were more likely than other groups to abandon their education early, suffer unemployment and homelessness and that many were unwilling to seek medical care, for fear of being shunned by health providers.
Porter said the report gave greater emphasis to gay rights than in previous years, reflecting the Obama administration's concern over homophobia.
