'Leaders liable for rape crisis'

2009-06-19 20:07

Cape Town - A lack of appropriate action by South Africa's leaders has allowed the country to become the rape capital of the world, the DA's shadow minister for gender said on Friday.

Denise Robinson said a Medical Research Council report released this week that found that one in four South African men had raped a woman or girl was "deeply disturbing".

"Of equal concern is that roughly 10% of these men forced themselves on a victim before the age of ten.

"Appropriate attitudes and positions need to be taken by those in leadership positions," Robinson said.

Robinson said respect for women had to be instilled in all men from an early age as one way of rectifying the "appalling" situation.

Underreporting of rape

"Schoolteachers and principals play a pivotal role in this, as does the department of education," she said.

The "severe" underreporting of rape was another fundamental problem to be addressed, she said.

Victims, Robinson said, were reluctant to report abuse for reasons such as social stigma and the fact that the SA Police Service (SAPS) was not victim-friendly.

Govt not addressing report findings

This was in large part a result of the government's cutback of specialised units aimed specifically at assisting victims of sexual abuse.

A Rapcan study published in March showed that the integration of the specialised units into mainstream SAPS had been a failure, said Robinson.

"As yet, the government has done nothing to address this report's findings.

"It is precisely this lack of appropriate action that has allowed South Africa to become the rape capital of the world."
 

- SAPA