( CNN ) -- A 24-year-old who was stabbed to death in South Africa is the victim of `` corrective rape , '' gay rights activists said Thursday , a crime where men attack lesbians in an attempt to reverse their sexual orientation . Noxolo Nogwaza was attacked late last month after dropping off her girlfriend in Kwa-Thema township near Johannesburg . She was raped , stabbed with broken glass several times and her face pummelled with rocks , Human Rights Watch said . `` A beer bottle , a large rock and used condoms were found on and near her body , '' the rights group said . Earlier this week , the nation 's Justice Ministry set up a task force to address hate crimes against lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender South Africans . The task team was set up after activists worldwide signed an online petition demanding the South African government act to halt the attacks . The call to petition intensified after Nogwaza 's killing . Police in Gauteng province , where the township is located , said they have not found any evidence of a hate crime and an investigation is under way . But some gay rights activists disagree . `` Her attack is a case of corrective rape , '' said gay rights activist Lydia Kunu . `` Neighbors said they heard her attackers telling her , 'We will take the lesbian out of you . ' They were mocking her and asking her why she acts like a man . '' Kunu is a community networking organizer for Ekurhuleni Pride Organizing Committee , where Nogwaza worked as well . The death has sparked renewed calls for action as rights groups warn of escalated homophobic attacks . `` In these cases , killing is the end of the spectrum , '' said Siphokazi Mthathi , the South Africa director for Human Rights Watch . `` It follows a trail of other problems -- rape , violence , problem accessing health care and violation by police . '' Mthathi said it is hard to get an overall number of the people subjected to violence because attacks go unreported over the distrust for the judicial system . `` There 's a great deal of under-representation because they are going to face secondary victimization , '' she said . `` We 've heard of cases where when they report a rape , the police tell them , 'are n't you happy that you got a real man for a change . ' '' The use of the term `` corrective rape '' started three years ago after the rape and murder of Eudy Simelane , a well-known soccer player who lived openly as a lesbian . Nogwaza 's attack is similar to the soccer player 's in some ways : police say they were both raped and stabbed to death . And just like Nogwaza , Simelane 's body was dumped in a public place in the same township . Two men were found guilty in the soccer star 's death and sentenced to prison terms , but the judges quashed any motions linking her attack to her sexual orientation . `` Nogwaza 's death is the latest in a long series of sadistic crimes against lesbians , gay men , and transgender people in South Africa , '' said Dipika Nath , researcher in the lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender rights program at Human Rights Watch . `` Police and other South African officials fail to acknowledge that members of the LGBT community are raped , beaten and killed simply because of how they look or identify , and they are attacked by men who then walk freely , boasting of their exploits , '' said Nath . A police spokesman slammed the accusations , and said authorities are working to ensure safety for all . `` It is our responsibility to provide safety , and we take that job seriously , '' said Col. Tshisikhawe Ndou , the provincial spokesman for Gauteng . The spokesman said there have been no arrests in Nogwaza 's killing , but investigations are under way . `` We 're following some leads , and in this specific case , we 'd like to ask anyone with information to contact the police , '' he said . `` They can even do so anonymously if they are scared . '' Outspoken gay rights activists have faced harassment and attacks in the nation , Human Rights Watch said . Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries , based on rules left over from the British colonial era when sodomy laws were introduced . However , the post-apartheid constitution bans prejudice against gays in South Africa , the first African nation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation . Despite the law , attacks based on sexual orientation are still going on , rights groups said . The new task force is scheduled to start working in July . It will address issues such as whether police and social workers should undergo sensitivity training , and whether rapists who target sexual minorities should get harsher sentences . Mthathi said having the anti-prejudicial constitution in place is an indicator that the task force alone wo n't resolve underlying problems . `` South Africa is a very misogynist and homophobic society , '' she said . `` We welcome the task team , but it wo n't solve social problems . We need to address the culture of accountability in judicial and social institutions , we need to address the attitudes ... disrupt the culture of impunity . ''
She is attacked after dropping off her girlfriend in a township near Johannesburg . She is raped , stabbed with broken glass several times and hit with rocks , group says . South Africa sets up a task force to address hate crimes .