Fifty children raped per day in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG – Some 50 children per day are raped in South Africa as the country struggles with the legacy of apartheid, AIDS and an influx of sexual material into a society which remains somewhat puritanical.

That is according to the official figures, which specialist groups say grossly underestimate the true scale of the phenomenon depicted in police reports. Regular police reports recount girls as young as five being raped, sometimes by boys who are barely in their teens.South Africa is notorious for the number of rape cases and, according to Captain Percy Morokane, some 40 per cent of the victims, or 20 000 a year, are under the age of 18.But according to organisations such as Rape Crisis, the total of all rapes reported, more than 52 000 a year, is far from the real figure which they put at more than a million.Luke Oambrecht, head of the Teddy Bear Clinic, part of Johannesburg’s hospital service which treats young rape victims, says that 91 per cent of perpetrators are people who know the child.Of them, “about 20 per cent are people acting in the capacity of father in other words, the mother’s boyfriend, the mother’s living partner, the stepfather, the biological father.”And another 20 per cent are juveniles under 18 years old, other children, which is another worry.””We have younger and younger offenders,” Oambrecht added.”We have heard of seven-year-old boys who have attempted to sodomise other boys.”Oambrecht said one explanation was the country’s violent past under the puritanical and repressive apartheid regime of white minority rule, coupled with the rush of sexually explicit material that followed its demise in 1994.Parents are embarrassed to talk about sex to their children, who do not understand why they cannot practise what they see, he added, while the AIDS pandemic, affecting one adult in five in South Africa, links sex with death, an even more taboo subject.Other factors are the crowded housing conditions of many poorer people, living in one-roomed shacks of corrugated iron and cardboard, where violence and sexual promiscuity are common.- Nampa-AFPRegular police reports recount girls as young as five being raped, sometimes by boys who are barely in their teens.South Africa is notorious for the number of rape cases and, according to Captain Percy Morokane, some 40 per cent of the victims, or 20 000 a year, are under the age of 18.But according to organisations such as Rape Crisis, the total of all rapes reported, more than 52 000 a year, is far from the real figure which they put at more than a million.Luke Oambrecht, head of the Teddy Bear Clinic, part of Johannesburg’s hospital service which treats young rape victims, says that 91 per cent of perpetrators are people who know the child.Of them, “about 20 per cent are people acting in the capacity of father in other words, the mother’s boyfriend, the mother’s living partner, the stepfather, the biological father.”And another 20 per cent are juveniles under 18 years old, other children, which is another worry.””We have younger and younger offenders,” Oambrecht added.”We have heard of seven-year-old boys who have attempted to sodomise other boys.”Oambrecht said one explanation was the country’s violent past under the puritanical and repressive apartheid regime of white minority rule, coupled with the rush of sexually explicit material that followed its demise in 1994.Parents are embarrassed to talk about sex to their children, who do not understand why they cannot practise what they see, he added, while the AIDS pandemic, affecting one adult in five in South Africa, links sex with death, an even more taboo subject.Other factors are the crowded housing conditions of many poorer people, living in one-roomed shacks of corrugated iron and cardboard, where violence and sexual promiscuity are common.- Nampa-AFP

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.