Moyahabo Mabeba
“It is deeply disturbing and a disgrace that almost 10,000 people were raped in South Africa in just three months,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Friday.
But rape victims and women’s rights activists have pointed out that the figure of 9,556 is just the number of cases that have been reported. The number of cases which go unreported is likely to be much higher.
Thohoyandou has become the “rape capital” of Limpopo, judging by the latest statistics released by Cele on 19 November. He was speaking at the release of the police’s crime statistics for the period 1 July to 30 September 2021.
Its police station recorded the second highest number of rape cases behind Temba police station in Gauteng.
When a local in the area was first raped at the age of 12, her aunt dismissed her, accusing her of being a lying, ill-disciplined girl who wanted to cause tension in the family.
In August this year, she was gang raped by four men who followed her from a drinking joint about 200 metres away from her home in Maniini village near Thohoyandou.
The same aunt asked her what she was doing at the time of the night when she was supposed to be asleep.
“Many women are raped in our villages but most incidents are not reported even though we know the perpetrators,” the victim told Scrolla.Africa.
“We are discouraged by our own families who don’t want the embarrassment as rape is still a stigma here. In some instances, we are failed by the police.”
The woman said she is now afraid that she could be raped for a third time.
“I don’t know where to hide. The person who raped me when I was 12 frequently comes to my home, while those who attacked me on the street are still out there. The police on the other hand are just useless,” she said.
Fiona Nicholson, of the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP), says that most rape cases are underreported.
“Some of these cases are swept under the carpet, and the public end up having wrong information,” she said.
MEC for Social Development Nkakareng Rakgoale said the rape statistics in Thohoyandou paint a grim picture about the violation of rights of vulnerable women.
“Our department will use the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, to be launched on 25 November, to come up with rigorous awareness campaigns against gender-based violence,” she said.
Image source: Limpopo Mirror
