Post date: Jan 12, 2013 5:28:7 PM
South Africa has been labeled the rape capital of the world by international police organisation, Interpol.
KHAYELITSHA, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA (JANUARY 11, 2013) (REUTERS) - Interpol says South Africa has the highest rate of rape in the world and less than one percent of rape cases are reported to police, SABC has reported.
In the most recent crime statistics released by the South African police services in September last year, the number of reported rapes stood at almost 70,000 for the year.But researchers and community activists believe the number of actual rapes is far higher as many cases go unreported.
Community activist in the Western Cape's Khayelitsha township is a lesbian who was gang raped by four men 17 years ago.
She said rape was a common occurrence in South Africa and that women of all ages and even infants were subjected to rape adding rape victims were likely to experience further victimisation when they report the crime to South African police.
"It was so frustrating because when you go to the police you get the second victimization.I think that rape in our country becomes so big in such a way that there's no age involved. You can be 100 years old and also 2 years old and then those boys, men can just rape you. And the frustrating thing also is the silence among ourselves as women in the community to say this is not ok, " she said.
An unidentified woman from the same township said no one was safe from rape inSouth Africa and called for the government to pass legislation to protect women from rape.
"I'm afraid, I'm afraid a lot, because most of the time rapists don't have any sympathy. They rape the elderly and young children. It's very painful," she said.
Sanja Bornman of the rights group Women's Legal Centre said statistics had shown that in 2011 there were 69,000 reported rapes, but that the actual figure was much higher.
"What this figure doesn't reflect is the number of unreported rapes and the high levels of rape attrition that we see in South Africa and there again some research suggests that one in nine rapes actually get reported to police, whereas other research suggests that it's as high as one in 25 rapes," she said.
Bornman said there was need for mass demonstrations to highlight the prevalence of rape in South Africa.
"I think it's really an indictment of who we are as a people that we have these things happening in South Africa on a daily basis and yet we have not had our moment of outrage, we have not had our moment of marching in the street and putting our foot down and saying no to this kind of behaviour," Bornman said.
But at present it is only the most brutal of cases of rape are highlighted in newspaper articles in South Africa.