Kenya: Lesbians reportedly beaten, sexually assaulted

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – Identity Kenya reports that three lesbians were beaten and sexually assaulted in a Nairobi lodging house last week.

Two men, reportedly known to the women, stormed into their room demanding to know why they were sharing a bed, the news service says. “The attackers claimed they were going to [teach them a lesson] for behaving like men and taking up the role of men in sex,” the report states.

The women were reportedly punched, kicked, muffled with pieces of their clothing, and then sexually assaulted with beer bottles, Identity Kenya says. The report says the women were threatened with further violence and death if they reported the attack to the police.

Only one of the women filed a statement with authorities before fleeing to an unknown location. The whereabouts of the other two women are also unknown.

Identity Kenya says it’s trying to locate them in order to get them medical and legal assistance.

Landing image: kenya-advisor.com

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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