Hate speech and actions against Black lesbians in South Africa

Abstract

A qualitative approach utilising a phenomenological research design was used in the study. The objective of this research was to explore  the experiences of Black lesbians, who have suffered hate speech and actions and who live in townships in Limpopo Province, South  Africa.Out of 30 individuals considered for this study, twenty (20) black lesbians participated using a snowball sampling technique. We  wanted to collect in-depth data, so used face-to-face interviews and a semistructured interview questionnaire with open-ended  questions. Thematic analysis (TA) was used to analyse data.One superordinate theme was gleaned out of the data namely: Hate speech  and actions against black lesbians, living in townships in Limpopo Province, South Africa and one sub-theme: Mental health challenges  because of hate speech and actions against black lesbians.Findings from this study shows that, despite the constitutional rights of  lesbians in South African, hate speech and actions against black lesbian is still manifesting in South Africa, and this is significantly  affecting the day-to-day lives of black lesbians in South Africa.It is apparent that the black lesbians who participated in this research struggled with the negative actions to their lifestyles, from their heterosexual peers, family, and community. Recommendations for future  research were to do a broader study, in all provinces in South Africa, with a quantitative component. Research aimed at exploring  perceptions of the heterosexual community in Limpopo Province, towards lesbians was proposed.