Sexual violence in South Africa
These include the establishment of the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA) in 1999, and a network of Thuthuzela Care Centres.
These are sexual violence support centres which employ a transdisciplinary approach to dealing with the aftermath of an assault, and are considered by the UN as best practice model.
Realities of Violence, Mental health, and Access to Healthcare Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression in South Africa'.
[27] A number of high-profile infant rapes appeared since 2001 (including the fact that they required extensive reconstructive surgery to rebuild urinary, genital, abdominal, or tracheal systems).
In October 2001, a nine-month-old girl named Tshepang was raped by an HIV-positive man and had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery in Cape Town.
[26] A significant contributing factor for the escalation in child abuse is the widespread myth in HIV ravaged South Africa that having sex with a virgin will cure a man of AIDS.
[35] One notable case of this was the gang-rape and murder of Eudy Simelane, a member of the South African football team and LGBT-rights activist.
Nearly half of all South African inmates surveyed by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services reported that sexual abuse happens "sometimes", "often" or "very often".
[48] In a related survey conducted among 1,500 school children in the Johannesburg township of Soweto, a quarter of all the boys interviewed said that 'jackrolling', a term for gang rape, was fun.
According to the Human Rights Watch,[49] girls from all levels of society and ethnic groups have been subjected to sexual violence at school in bathrooms, empty classrooms, dormitories, and more.
It also reported details on the Judicial Authority of South Africa, where the lower courts are responsible for important issues such as sexual assault and family violence.
[14] The Parliament of South Africa has enacted the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, which has been in effect since 16 December 2007.
Moreover, the report states that the attitudes and prejudices of law enforcement agencies and other government personnel and the inaccessibility of services, particularly in rural areas, are also part of the problem.
The "cautionary rule" is a law that requires that a judge must show awareness to special dangers on relying on uncorroborated evidence of a complainant, lowering this rate and making victims of sexual violence feel as if the court will deem them untrustworthy.
[57] A small study published in 2015 using data collected at four TCCs in Gauteng during 2012-2014 found that "service delivery was experienced as satisfactory and that a positive relationship existed between the victim and TCC staff".
[64] Each stakeholder in the TCC is accountable from the moment the case is opened to its conclusion, a measure which, according to a 2023 study, has improved conviction rates ten-fold.
[57] TCCs are credited with helping to reduce trial completion time for cases from two years to just over seven months, and for producing conviction rates of 84–89%.
[66] In 2012–2013, the Sinawe TCC, located in Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province, won an award for being "the best-run care centre in South Africa".
Following this, a National Summit on Gender Based Violence and Femicide was held, including the government, the Total Shutdown Movement, and various organisations, which culminated in a signed "declaration that the government, businesses, labour and civil society would collaborate to conceptualise, drive and implement concrete measures to eradicate gender-based violence and femicide".
[68] Others have condemned South African sexual violence in the media as fitting into a specific narrative of only broadcasting incidents where the victims are white, middle-class and educated and are not attacked by their peers or family members.
[69] However, there are many news stories and events dealing with sexual violence in South Africa that have garnered a lot of international attention.
In April 1999, a female American UNICEF official visiting South Africa on business was gang raped during a robbery of the home where she was staying.
As a journalist of the Mail and Guardian and having contributed to articles for the Washington Post and BBC, Smith claimed that "rape is endemic" in the culture of South Africa.
Another contentious issue was when the only black player in the South African cricket team, Makhaya Ntini, was convicted of the rape of a 22-year-old student.
[73] This was particularly controversial as Ntini was the first black cricketer to represent South Africa on an international level and was viewed as a role model.
[76] This award was established in 1990 to films that reflected the ideals of the United Nations and signifies that the issue of corrective rape is becoming more discussed on an international level.
In late August 2019, student Uyinene Mrwetyana was raped and murdered by a post office attendant who was working in Claremont, Cape Town.
Antjie Krog's Country of My Skull delves into the Truth and Reconciliatory Commission and the reports of women that were victims of sexual violence during the Apartheid.
[82] J. M. Coetzee's novel, Disgrace, has been accused of racism as it depicts a young white woman being raped by three black men in her house in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
[68] The book, The Writing Circle, by Rozena Maart, depicts a group of young women's experiences with rape and other forms of violence living in Cape Town, South Africa.
