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South Africa copes with skyrocketing rape, abuse rates
February 23, 1997
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EST (0445 GMT)From Correspondent Christiane Amanpour
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- The nation's transition from apartheid to democracy has been widely praised, but the society remains in transition. Women and children may be bearing the brunt of its insecurity.
Reported cases of rape and child abuse are sky-rocketing. South Africa's rape rate is double that of the United States. Much of that is fueled by the belief that criminals can get away with it, because the laws are too weak.
"It's quite serious, and so far it is threatening the miracle we are able to achieve in South Africa -- the political miracle," said Tokyo Sexwale, premier of Gauteng Province.
"What is worrying here is that something has got to happen to white people before it is taken seriously,"
-- Mmatshilo Motsei Social Worker
Women begin to speak out
The police are underpaid, and can be corrupt and unmotivated. In the past, they dealt mainly with political violence. Today, many people no longer fear them, and the government is accused of being soft on crime.
But women, black and white, are beginning to speak out.
Jane Parker was raped when she was 19. Her two daughters were raped last month at the family's home.
"Horrific -- there is no other word for it, when the population is at the mercy of criminals," Parker said.
The Parkers' family room has become an operations center. They have started a grassroots organization to demand tougher laws.
What is described as an explosion of violence may now be getting attention because it's moving into white suburbs and claiming some high-profile victims.
"What is worrying here is that something has got to happen to white people before it is taken seriously," said social worker Mmatshilo Motsei.
Motsei runs a crisis center in one of Johannesburg's black suburbs, where she deals with the unspeakable every day.
For at least one victim, the horror went far beyond a sexual assault. "After rape, they put a bottle in her vagina, and they stamped all over her abdomen with the bottle breaking up inside her," Motsei said.
Even a government minister calls South Africa the rape capital of the world. Recent statistics show one million women are raped every year.
People, police losing faith
The incidents of child abuse are also rising fast.
Ophelia, 12 years old, is mildly retarded and has epilepsy. Her stepfather, who is unemployed, repeatedly raped her while her mother was away at work. A neighbor alerted police only after she noticed the child walking strangely.
Ophelia is terrified, but many rapists are not scared of being caught or sentenced. Even some police are losing faith. One arrested his own daughter's rapist and then killed the man, because he thought the system would set the man free.
In the new climate of civil rights, people also want security. No one wants to go back to the old days of police brutality, but they do want the new government to stand up for everyone's rights -- those of the victims as well as the accused.
"If our government wants to stay in power," Parker said, "they have to show the people that put them in power that they care for them."
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