Renewed interest in ugly reality of rape and women abuse

As you read this editorial, somewhere in South Africa a woman is coming to terms with being attacked by a stranger, beaten by a partner, or humiliated by a loved one.

Since Sandile Mantsoe's arrest for Karabo Mokoena's brutal killing, it seems rape, murder and the general abuse of women have made headlines daily. The latest outrage - the gang rape of a pregnant woman in an abandoned building in central Johannesburg.

Fuelled by public outrage, there is a renewed interest in the ugly reality of rape and women abuse in the country. We often see similar spikes in interest when police release crime statistics which invariably shock and leave us indignant, causing frantic chatter at dinner tables sparked by questions of "What is going on in this country?" or "What is wrong with the men in South Africa?"

Unfortunately, due to our scandal-riddled landscape, as a nation we tend to lurch from outrage to outrage, forgetting the previous week's anger as the next Zuma-inspired faux pas makes headlines.

By next week another issue will grab headlines, in all likelihood a political one, and dinner conversations will turn to questions of "What is this government doing?" and "Will the rand survive this onslaught?"

Despite our collective attention deficit disorder, at least a fifth of South Africa's women will not be able to move beyond this current scandal cycle. Stats SA's latest Demographic and Health Survey, released earlier this week, shows that one in five women has experienced violence at the hands of a partner.

Our ADD outrage cannot solve that problem. Perhaps our dinner time conversation should begin with acceptance: South Africa, we have a problem.

This admission should swiftly be followed by real dialogue in the streets, bedrooms, boardrooms and at dinner tables about how to change the current appalling cycle of violence because headlines alone won't do it.