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20 Sexual Violence Statistics South Africa

© Moira Richards

These statistics are gleaned from various studies referred to in a recent Human Rights Watch report regarding South Africa.

South Africa has one of the world's highest reported rates of violent crimes committed against women

1. In some areas, 77% of surveyed women said that sexual violence was very common.
2. 68% of these women had personally been subjected to sexual harassment, at least once, at school or at her place of work.
3. 25% of the young men in another survey admitted to having had sex with a woman, without her consent, before he was 18 years of age.
4. Most South African rapists go unpunished because it is one of the most under-reported crimes, and because it has one of the lowest conviction rates.
5. In the late nineties, 40% of the people who reported rape and attempted rape committed against themselves, were girls younger than 17 years of age.
6. A more recent study reports that more and more girls are being raped before they reach the age of 15 years old.
7. Of all the reported crimes that were committed against South African children in 1998, the most common one is rape.
8. In one area, statistics showed also, that about 40% of cases of sexual violence were committed by children.
9. Young girls are sometimes targeted by rapists because they believe in the myth that sex with a virgin can cleanse him of the HIV/AIDS virus.
10. Girls are also attractive to a rapist because he thinks they are less likely than an older woman, to infect him with HIV/AIDS.
11. One survey shows that 30% of the men interviewed, believed that women ask to be raped.
12. 20% of these young men thought that women enjoyed to be raped.
13. Almost one out of every two of the lads was friends with sexually violent men.
14. Three out of every ten young men admitted that they could act violently with a girl.
15. About one half of the young men believed that if a girl says "No" to sex, that she really means "Yes."
16. One third of the men and women who were surveyed, did not think that to force sex on someone you know, is an act of sexual violence.
17. Some of the girls did not know that they have the right to not have sex against their wishes.
18. More than 10% of teenaged boys thought that gang rape was cool, and a game.
19. Reasons why young men rape girls include, to put her in her place, to teach her a lesson, to break her pride.

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