Police statistics for 2021/22 showed that there were 41,739 rapes reported to the police.
One could easily double this number because there remains a significant under-reporting of sexual offences in South Africa.
This is because of a number of factors, especially on rapes committed by men who are related or known to their young victims.
Rape victims face all kinds of trauma to keep quiet, in some cases they are threatened with their lives and other family members fear reporting the perpetrators.
In a recent case, the mother of an eight-year-old child, who was raped by a close family friend in Nkandla, told of the high price she had to pay to secure justice.
The mother described how her family “was against her” after she reported the matter to the police.
On the day of the incident, the child was babysitting her cousin when the man — who she called “uncle” — came into the house and raped her.
The mother said after she reported the case, this “caused a lot of division. Our clothes and furniture were thrown outside. I had to move out with my children”.
In that case, the state led evidence of a relative who had walked in on the rape. He had told the police that he was afraid of the rapist, hence he did not report the incident.
The man was sentenced to life.
In another case, a Cape Town man was sentenced to life in prison for raping a seven-year-old relative and knowingly infecting her with HIV.
The man raped the then seven-year-old as she lay on the couch watching TV.
The victim did not inform anyone about the incident “as she saw him as her uncle”.
In the case of the child infected with HIV, the incident only came to light after the child became ill and was taken to a clinic where a doctor discovered she had sexually transmitted diseases. An HIV test came back positive, which led police to start investigating.
He did not only rape me, but he also infected me with HIV and I must drink tablets every night. My life will not be the same again and I will not forget what happened.
— Fourteen-year-old rape victim
The man, who was released under house arrest, went to live with his brother and during this time allegedly raped his nine-year-old niece.
He is to appear in the Cape Town regional court on Monday in connection with that case.
In another case, a 69-year-old Dunoon man was sentenced to life for sexually grooming and repeatedly raping a minor, whose family were fellow church members in the Western Cape.
The victim impact statements of these children tell a heartbreaking story of the trauma they have gone through.
In the case of the Nkandla girl, her mother said the child used to be happy and respectful. But now her schoolwork had declined. She showed anger towards her peers and siblings, often hitting them.
In the case of a girl infected with HIV, the now 14-year-old said she cries at night as she has a wound she knows will never heal. “He did not only rape me, but he also infected me with HIV, and I must drink tablets every night. My life will not be the same again, and I will not forget what happened.”
These cases illustrate the difficulties faced by the children and their families in reporting these perpetrators.
But the arrest of the perpetrators is not the end of the challenges for the victim who often struggle to testify about what happened to them.
This shows that the children suffer more than the initial rapes. They also go through a secondary trauma when they have to testify.
Then, in the case of the Nkandla woman, the family also face a backlash from the abuser or other members of the family.
While the introduction of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Thuthuzela care centres — a one-stop facility aimed at reducing secondary victimisation, improving conviction rates and reducing the cycle time for finalisation of cases — in 2006 has helped to ameliorate the plight of rape victims, more needs to be done.
Last month, KZN social development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza said her department wants to collaborate with amakhosi to establish support services and safe spaces for survivors of gender-based violence in their communities.
She said it was important to strengthen partnerships with law enforcement agencies to ensure that these cases are promptly and thoroughly investigated and perpetrators are brought to justice.
Khoza said her department believes amakhosi can play a pivotal role in breaking this cycle of gender-based violence by raising awareness, offering support to survivors and inculcating a culture of accountability in communities.
The role of amakhosi in fighting this scourge cannot be overemphasised.
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