Meanings
plural corrective rapes
- countableuncountableThe act of raping someone because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in an attempt to force the person to be heterosexual or to enforce gender stereotypes.
In early reports of corrective rape, gender non-conforming behavior among black lesbian women is cited as one of the most prevalent motivations behind the perpetration of such violence (Mufweba and Bhengu, 2003).
2021, S. J. Dodd, editor, The Routledge International Handbook of Social Work and Sexualities, Routledge, →ISBN, page 991 more example
Raping a lesbian, HRW [(Human Rights Watch)] researchers found, can make a man a township hero. Attackers boast publicly of their crimes and declare to their victims, "We'll show you you're a woman," the report said. Such attacks are known as "corrective rapes" in South Africa.
[2011 December 5, Donna Bryson, “Rights group: South African lesbians face abuse”, in Yahoo! News, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2012
Origin
corrective + rape. First used in South Africa, in reference to the raping of lesbians.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 姦改 /奸改, 矯正強姦 /矫正强奸
- 姦改 /奸改 (jiāngǎi)raping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
- 矯正強姦 /矫正强奸 (jiǎozhèng qiángjiān)raping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
- 矯正性強姦 /矫正性强奸 (jiǎozhèngxìng qiángjiān)raping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Dutch correctieve verkrachting, corrigerende verkrachting
- correctieve verkrachtingraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
- corrigerende verkrachtingraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Esperanto korekta seksatenco
- korekta seksatencoraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Finnish korjaava raiskaus
- korjaava raiskausraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
French viol correctif
- viol correctifraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
German korrigierende Vergewaltigung
- korrigierende Vergewaltigungraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Portuguese estupro corretivo
- estupro corretivoraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Russian корректи́рующее изнаси́лование
- корректи́рующее изнаси́лование (korrektírujuščeje iznasílovanije)raping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Spanish violación correctiva, violación curativa
- violación correctivaraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
- violación curativaraping a person because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
Cite this entry
corrective rape. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corrective%20rape
“corrective rape.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corrective%20rape. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “corrective rape,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/corrective%20rape.
Source: corrective rape on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.