43 children raped daily in SA

2004-12-07 22:21

Marthinus van Vuuren

Cape Town - Parliament heard this week that 43 children were raped in South Africa every day - and these were only the cases reported to police.

In total, 15 857 child rapes were reported in South Africa in the year ending in March.

Of these cases, 9 189 suspected rapists have appeared in court, and only 721 have been convicted.

This means that only 4.55% of all child rapes reported in this time resulted in convictions.

This information was revealed by Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula in parliament in answer to a question by Democratic Alliance MP Mike Waters about the number of crimes against children.

If violence and murders of children were added to the figure, a total of 59 526 crimes were committed against children in this period. This worked out to 163 cases a day.

Officers 'need special training'

Overall, 29 102 suspects have appeared in court for crimes against children, and 7 713 have been convicted.

Carol Bower, chairperson of the South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, said the rape figures were a clear sign that this crime was not being taken seriously.

She said reasons for the breakdown included a lack of forensic witnesses in child-rape cases, dockets disappearing and the withdrawal of cases because the ordeal of court appearances was often too traumatic for the children.

She recommended attention be given to the training of officials who handled such cases.

"Officials need to learn to handle rape victims sensitively and to gather proof properly," she said, adding that the more thorough an officer was the more chance there was for successful prosecution.

- Beeld