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Girls under 14 main rape target
23/08/2006 17:01 - (SA)
Cape Town - Almost half of the rapes in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township involved girls under 14, with the youngest survivor aged one and the oldest a grandmother aged 76, according to data from a dedicated rape centre on Wednesday.
In its first-year report - August 2005 to July 2006 - the Simelela Rape Survivors Centre treated 743 cases, an average of two to three a day.
The area is recognised as having one of the highest rates of rape in South Africa.
Simelela is a unique partnership between NGOs and government institutions and provides comprehensive services for rape survivors.
Treatment at the centre includes emergency medical care such as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV prevention, forensic examination and judicial support.
A 28-year-old rape survivor was quoted in the report as saying: "I would like to ask him why he raped me. Why did he choose me? And what was he thinking? What was he feeling? Does he have a girlfriend? And does he do this to her?"
1.5% increase in rapes
According to the police's crime information analysis centre, there were 55 114 rape cases reported to police last year.
The record high represented a 1.5% increase on figures for the previous year.
The Western Cape province had the second-highest number of rapes in the country, with Khayelitsha the place where rape was most likely to occur.
The Simelela report showed that 57% of those attacked knew the rapist, with children under 14 even more likely to know the perpetrator (66%).
"One in ten rapes are committed by a family member," read the report.
"In the most cases, women are raped with the threat of physical injury (65%), and in almost half of all attacks the perpetrator is armed (41%). The most common weapons used are knives, followed by guns.
"However, sticks, bricks and other implements are also used."
With some suggesting that up to one-third of raped women who do not receive PEP would eventually contract HIV/Aids, the report said 86% of new cases came to the centre within the crucial 72 hour period.
The sooner PEP is administered, the greater the chances the victims would not contract HIV/Aids.
"No one who commenced this course of PEP and returned to the centre after six and 12 weeks for testing has gone on to become HIV-positive," read the report.
It said the availability of PEP was encouraging male rape survivors to come forward.
Abrasions and cuts
The country has the highest incidence of HIV prevalence in the world, and according to UNAids, one of the reasons why more women were infected than men was because so many experienced forced sex.
Forced sex frequently resulted in abrasions and cuts, giving the virus easier entry into the body.
Challenges that needed to be addressed when combating the tide of rape included environment and community, a failing justice system, medical procedures related to HIV testing and sustainability.
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