The Dros rape, our colonial past and the ‘sexual entitlement of white men’

01 October 2018 - 07:00 By GRAEME HOSKEN
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The Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria, where a child was allegedly attacked.
The Dros restaurant in Silverton, Pretoria, where a child was allegedly attacked.
Image: TimesLIVE

The racialisation of the rape of a six-year-old black girl by a man at a Pretoria restaurant is deeply rooted to our colonial history and sexual entitlement of the country’s white man, says a sociology professor.

News organisations have been slammed for failing to identify the alleged culprit – as well as for calling him an “alleged rapist” – which sparked accusations that the reputations of white suspects were considered more important than those of black suspects and were thus protected.

But the law is clear: it is illegal to identify a sexual offences suspect until he or she has pleaded.

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