WUNRN
Via SVRI - Sexual Violence Research
Initiative
Mail & Guardian
SOUTH AFRICA - QUARTER OF MEN ADMIT
RAPE - MEDICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
June 18, 2009
One in four men in South Africa have admitted to rape and many confess to
attacking more than one victim, according to a study that exposes the country's
endemic culture of sexual violence.
Three out of four rapists first attacked while still in their teens, the study
found. One in 20 men said they had raped a woman or girl in the last year.
South Africa is notorious for having one of the highest levels of rape in the
world. Only a fraction are reported, and only a fraction of those lead to a
conviction.
The study into rape and HIV, by the the Medical Research Council (MRC), asked
men to tap their answers into a PDA device to guarantee anonymity. The method
appears to have produced some unusually frank responses.
Professor Rachel Jewkes of the MRC, who carried out the research, said:
"We have a very, very high prevalence of rape in South Africa. I think it
is down to ideas about masculinity based on gender hierarchy and the sexual
entitlement of men. It's rooted in an African ideal of manhood."
Jewkes and her colleagues interviewed a representative sample of 1 738 men
in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Of those surveyed, 28% said they had raped a woman or girl, and 3% said they
had raped a man or boy. Almost half who said they had carried out a rape
admitted they had done so more than once, with 73% saying they had carried out
their first assault before the age of 20.
The study, which had British funding, also found that men who are physically
violent towards women are twice as likely to be HIV-positive. They are also
more likely to pay for sex and to not use condoms.
Any woman raped by a man over the age of 25 has a one in four chance of her
attacker being HIV-positive.
One in 10 men said they had been forced to have sex with another man. Many find
it difficult to report such attacks to the police in subcultures where the
concept of homosexuality is taboo.
The government has been repeatedly criticised for failing to address the
crisis. Only 7% of reported rapes are estimated to lead to a conviction. Jewkes
said: "There's been a lot of concern about the way the criminal justice
system works, because it's still woeful."
"The findings highlight the very high prevalence of rape in South Africa
and the high prevalence of HIV in the adult population," said the
executive summary of the report.
"The prevalence of rape has similarities to that found in other studies in
South Africa. The very high prevalence shows that generally rape is far too
common, and its origins too deeply embedded in ideas about South African
manhood, for the problem which can be predominantly addressed through strategies
of apprehension and prosecution of perpetrators."
Jewkes told the Mail & Guardian Online on Thursday that while the
survey had only focussed on two provinces, there was no evidence to suggest the
findings would be different if it had been run countrywide.
The report said a much broader approach to rape prevention was required.
"This must entail intervening on the key drivers of the problem which
include ideas of masculinity, predicted on marked gender hierarchy and sexual
entitlement of men. Efforts to change these require interventions on structural
dimensions of men’s lives, notably education and opportunities for employment
and advancement," it said.
Political leadership
Before his election as president, Jacob Zuma stood trial for the rape of a family
friend. His supporters demonstrated outside the court, verbally attacked his
accuser and sang "burn the bitch, burn the bitch". Zuma was
eventually acquitted.
Jewkes added: "The social space for debating these gender issues is now
smaller than it was a few years ago. We need our government to show political
leadership in changing attitudes. We need South African men, from the top to
the grassroots, to take responsibility."
Anti-rape campaigners said the shocking figures demonstrated the need for reform.
Dean Peacock, co-director of the Sonke Gender Justice project, said: "We
need to make sure the criminal justice system is held to account. We have lots
of discussion in this country, but not enough action is taken to ensure that
perpetrators will face consequences."
Peacock added: "We're at a complicated moment in South African history
with revived traditionalism and there's a danger of gender transformation being
lost.
"We hear men saying, 'If Jacob Zuma can have many wives, I can have many
girlfriends.' The hyper-masculine rhetoric of the Zuma campaign is going to set
back our work in challenging the old model of masculinity."
Carrie Shelver, an activist with People Opposing Women Abuse, said:
"Generally there's a deficit of understanding and commitment to women's
rights by the leadership of this country. It's simply not on people's
agenda."
A report published by the trade union Solidarity earlier this month said that
one child is raped in South Africa every three minutes, with 88% of rapes going
unreported. It found that levels of child abuse in South Africa are increasing
rapidly.
================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.