Crime Statistics came out a few weeks back and showed a decline in crimes that are violent and downright physical. How then do we explain the continued attacks on defenceless children and elderly women who are attacked in their own homes? Over the long weekend, an 83 year old woman was gang raped in Vryburg, North West in her home by three men. Rape is a form of dominance of man men on women to prove their sexual and physical prowess yet the stats show that there is a decline in rape cases.
The report stands as follows: hijackings are down by 11.9%, as are residential robberies even though the decrease is by merely 1.9%, it is a decrease all the same right? But the other side of the coin is that there are increases in crimes like robberies of businesses (up by 7.5%) and reports of drug-related crime have jumped by 15.6%. The effects of gangster-ism were particularly evident in the stats for the Western Cape, where 13.1% of reported murders and 22.2% of attempted murders over 2011-2012 were gang-related. Drunk driving was up by 2.9%. Rape and sexual related cases are down by 1.7% which should in effect sound good right? Wrong; because the actual figures don't really show a change or a marked decrease in these crimes.
South Africa is still considered to be the world rape capital with a total of 40% percent of reported cases being against infants and children. I say reported cases because most rape cases go unreported and approximately one (1) in every nine (9) rape case is reported. In most cases you find men that claim that they were enticed by the way a woman was dressed and couldn't hold themselves, what about infants? Will they be wearing micro-skirts as well? How would they be asking for it? Rape is barbaric and shows a lack of control from the man and a death sentence should be given to such an act. These people are clearly disconnected from reality, and do not deserve to be in the same society as children and women. What is even sad is the fact that most rapes are done by people we trust with our children, those that have access to them. It is not the stranger, lurking in the bush that ultimately rapes these children. It is that family friend that is normally friendlier than normal to the child, an uncle, and most commonly the father of the child. The closer the relative is to the child the lesser the chances of the rape being reported at all. First the child would not report such an act because they are being threatened or they simply do not trust anyone can help anymore.
The worst most disgusting reason why most cases are not reported is because the mother of the child doesn’t want to “rock the boat” as it were, especially if the rapist is the father or a close relative. Someone who is well recognized in the community or because they feel the community will shun them (as a family), look down upon her; look at her as a failure.
I urge people to be more watchful of those closest, those we trust because they can turn to be the devils in sheep's clothing. It can be a friend, a boyfriend, an uncle, a neighbor; teach your children to be open and talk them frequently so that if (God Forbid) such things happen you are there for them. Maybe just maybe we can stop rape from happening to defenseless children
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