Sexual Assault in South Africa

A girl in South Africa is raped every five minutes (Shostak). She is sexually violated, and then violated again by the legal system and the health system of her home country (Jaafari). This is the reality women in South Africa face every day.
Sexual assault is rampant in South Africa. According to South African Police Service statistics, there were 41,583 reported cases of rape total from 2018-2019. In that same year, there was an average of 114 women raped a day, a 5% increase from the previous year (Mofokeng). But the numbers are most likely far larger, as only 10% of rapes are actually reported to police (Bauer). The rape culture is largely due to “a historical culture of ‘might is right’” and imbalanced power dynamics between men and women (Dewey). This culture of “might is right” stems from the patriarchal society in South Africa, encouraging toxic masculinity. Furthermore, the high male unemployment and wealth gap make men feel inferior and weak due to economic insecurity, leading them to take it out on women (Dewey). Because women in South Africa have low social status and a severe lack of power, men feel entitled to women’s bodies. This is evident as two-thirds of the men in South Africa don’t believe in a woman’s right to say no to sex (Shostak). However, these women are not only victims of sexual assault, but also of a country that is not prioritizing their health and their justice.
Hospitals in South Africa are forced to use old and expired rape kits, leading to loopholes that let suspects walk free and attack another woman (Dewey). Furthermore, women often cannot access sexual and reproductive health services like safe abortion (Mofokeng). The health system forces women who get pregnant after being raped to carry the unwanted pregnancy or turn to illegal abortion pills. In addition, when women get unsafe, unsanitary abortions, it can often lead to sepsis and hemorrhaging. But South African women are also being harmed by the legal system.
According to a 2017 study, since 2003, only 6% of reported assaults and rapes in South Africa ended with a conviction (Jaafari). South African rape culture normalizes and trivializes sexual assault on women—even the former president, Jacob Zuma, was tried for rape in 2005, though he was, unsurprisingly, acquitted (Dewey). Most incidents aren’t even reported, as many women do not come forward and report the incident because they do not think that they will be believed. Furthermore, many women do not have lawyers or adequate support during the trial. Even if there are laws that protect women’s rights in these aspects, they are not actually enforced (Jaafari). The legal system in South Africa is not giving victims of sexual assault the justice that they deserve.
The rape culture in South Africa must end in order to lower such high rates of sexual assault, and that will happen only when the patriarchal society encouraging toxic masculinity and male dominance ends. As protestor Tefo Tlale said, “Women don't feel safe. They don't feel like this is their country. Women are not seen as equal decision-makers or having a critical role to play in society. We have to . . . ensure the next generation [doesn’t] grow up in a society where they think they are better just because they are men” (Bauer).

                                                                    Works Cited

Mofokeng, Tlaleng, et al. “Violence Against Women Is Blocking Development by Tlaleng Mofokeng.” Project Syndicate, Project Syndicate, 21 Feb. 2020, www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/violence-against-women-blocking-development-by-tlaleng-mofokeng-2020-02.

Bauer, Nickolaus. “South Africa: Protesters Demand Action on Violence against Women.” News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 13 Sept. 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/south-africa-protesters-demand-action-violence-women-190913132640008.html.

Dewey, Caitlin. “South Africa, Once Called 'the World's Rape Capital,' Is Running out of Rape Kits.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 5 Mar. 2013, www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/03/05/south-africa-once-called-the-worlds-rape-capital-is-running-out-of-rape-kits/.

Jaafari, Joseph Darius. “In South Africa, a Call to Punish Rapists.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/opinion/in-south-africa-a-call-to-punish-rapists.html.

Shostak, E.M. "South Africa's Struggle with AIDS." History Behind the Headlines: The Origins of Conflicts Worldwide, edited by Sonia G. Benson, et al., vol. 3, Gale, 2002. Gale In Context: Global Issues, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2309003023/GIC?u=los42754&sid=GIC&xid=bca9fb37. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.