South Africa's lesbians fear 'corrective rape'

Lesbian South Africans are living in fear as rape and murder become a daily threat in the townships they call home. Noxolo Nkosana, 23, is the latest victim of a series of violent attacks against lesbians. She was stabbed a stone's throw from her home in Crossroads township, Cape Town, as she returned from work one evening with her girlfriend. The two men - one of whom lives in her community - started yelling insults. "They were walking behind us. They just started swearing at me screaming: 'Hey you lesbian, you tomboy, we'll show you,'

Before she knew it a sharp knife had entered her back - two fast jabs, then she was on the ground. Half conscious, she felt the knife sink into her skin twice more. "I was sure that they were going to kill me," she says.