Study: 1.4 million rapes annually in South Africa, world ignores

A 2009 study conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC) resulted in some shocking discoveries. All men who were interviewed answered by way of electronic device, to keep the results anonymous. The study produced the following results: -One-fourth of the men admitted to having raped someone, and half of them claimed to have raped more than one victim. -Three out of four who admitted to committing rape, had attacked for the first time during their teens. In fact, 73 percent said they had committed their first rape before age 20. -Gang rapes are common because for a large portion of South African males they are actually considered to be a form of ‘male bonding.’ -One in 20 who participated in the study, admitted to having raped a woman or a child within the last year. -The study found that one in 10 men said they had actually been raped by other men. -It is estimated that the actual number of rapes being committed in South Africa annually is 1.4 million. (To put this in perspective, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 81,000 rapes or attempted were committed in the U.S. in 2009, while the U.S. population is more than six times that of South Africa.) The Medical Research Council spoke to 1,738 men in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. Professor Rachel Jewkes who directed the study for the MRC said: “We know that we have a higher prevalence of rape in South Africa than there is in other countries.” That data represented the first definitive statistics on violent crime in that country in several years, as the government of South Africa has been notorious for hiding the out-of-control violence and sky-rocketing incidents of rape which have overtaken that nation since the end of Apartheid. In 1994, the year the African National Congress took 62 percent of the vote, sending Nelson Mandela to the presidential palace, the number of reported child rapes in South Africa was a little over 7,000. By 2000, that number had tripled. A report released in June 2009 by the advocacy group Solidarity Helping Hand concluded that there were about 60 cases of child rape in South Africa every day, while more than 88 percent of child rapes were never reported. The group’s spokeswoman Mariana Kriel told reporters: “This means that about 530 child rapes take place every day – one rape every three minutes.” According to Kriel, the report shows that overall child abuse in South Africa is rising at an incredible rate. Kriel went on to describe the report: “Several interviews with social workers and other employees of social welfare organizations across South Africa are included in the report, providing a unique look at the experiences of people who work with child abuse on a daily basis.” Executive director of Solidarity Helping Hand, Danie Langner, said: “In 2007-08, 1,410 cases of child murder were reported – 22 percent more than in the previous year. In addition, it was found that 45 percent of all rapes in the country were child rapes.” Unfortunately, rape seems to have become the new pastime for South African men, including for those who are rich and powerful. In 2005, South African politician Jacob Zuma was charged with rape. His alleged victim was the daughter of a close friend, as well as a well-known AIDS activist. In 2006, the Johannesburg High Court dismissed the charges against him, claiming the sex to be consensual. However, many believe Zuma bought his way out of trouble, by promising political favors down the road. On May 9, 2009 accused rapist Jacob Zuma became president of South Africa. In 2001, former Republic of South Africa military intelligence officer Koos Ven der Merwe told WorldNetDaily: “This story (rape) has been largely ignored by the mainstream media in the United States and the Western world, in order to perpetuate the Mandela myth of the wonderful New South Africa.” The incidence of rape in that country has grown so widespread that in 2005, Sonette Ehlers, a medical technician with the South African Blood Transfusion Service invented an anti-rape device she dubbed the Rape-aXe. The Rape-aXe is basically a thick latex condom worn by the woman which is ribbed with inward-facing barbs which imbed themselves into any potential rapist. Aside from the obvious pain the device would inflict upon the attacker, removing the barbed sheath would require the man to seek medical attention, thus alerting authorities to his actions. Ehlers said she got the idea for the unusual form of self-defense while treating a rape victim, who stated: “If only I had teeth down there.” So why is rape so common in South Africa? Though it is rarely discussed by the mainstream media, many African men believe that having sex with a virgin is a cure for AIDS, a disease which is ravaging the African continent. This is one reason why child rape has reached epidemic proportions, not only in South Africa, but throughout all of Africa. Just as under-reported, is the cultural belief among many South African men that they can change a lesbian’s sexual orientation through a brutal practice known as ‘corrective rape.’ Much of the world, including the United States condemned and brought economic sanctions against South Africa while their policy of Apartheid was in place. However, these same nations have remained silent while South Africa has descended into chaos and barbarism. Many human rights activists were dismayed when the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament as well as the 2012 World Golf Championship were awarded to South Africa…further evidence of the blind eye being turned towards South Africa’s beleaguered women and children.