Were this many rapes happening during apartheid and no one reported it? If not, does this mean things were better during apartheid? South African rape survey shock One in four South African men questioned in a survey said they had raped someone, and nearly half of them admitted more than one attack. The study, by the country's Medical Research Council, also found three out of four who admitted rape had attacked for the first time during their teens. It said practices such as gang rape were common because they were considered a form of male bonding. The MRC spoke to 1,738 men in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. The research was conducted in both rural and urban areas and included all racial groups. Using an electronic device to keep the results anonymous, the study found that 73% of those who admitted rape said they had carried out their first assault before the age of 20. Almost half who said they had carried out a rape admitted they had done so more than once. One in 20 men surveyed said they had raped a woman or girl in the last year... ..The study found that one in 10 men said they had been raped by other men. Some 3% of the men interviewed said they had coerced a man or a boy into sex.... ...A recent trade union report said a child was being raped in South Africa every three minutes with the vast majority of those cases going unreported.
During the apartheid years (circa 1900 -1992), South Africa enjoyed the lowest crime rate in the world, with rape almost unheard of, but only amongst the white population. There was a Nazi like police force that absolutely contained all nature of crime, and kept loiterers of the streets. Zero tolerance towards any persons of colour. For the whites, a paradise. During this period the blacks (Xhosa`s, Zulus, etc) were largely rurally located in tribes where tribal customs and respect held sway. Tribal courts kept crime, including rape, at bay with swift and ruthless kangaroo court type retribution for crimes. Fast forward to the 1980`s and 1990`s with blacks moving into the cities en masse with urbanization creating overcrowding and the breakdown of the traditional respect system which prevented sexual crimes and violations. Due to inadequate law enforcement and a lenient judiciary rampant poverty driven violent crime and crimes against the person such as rape has reached epidemic proportions. Sadly, driving hordes of South Africans to find new homes overseas.
What are the figures in other places? Very often in such statistics, what we tend to skip is the comparative rate in other places. e.g. one of six women in the US has experienced attempted or completed rape. Whats the corresponding figure for men? How many men have attempted or been subject to rape? PS I am only using US figures because they are easier to find.
Apartheid itself was one long assault, inclduing rape etc. I doubt very much that traditional tribal authorities held things in check in the great slums and holding grounds for the balck labor force.
I'll go out on a limb and say that I'd be absolutely astonished if it was determined that 25% of American men had committed rape. It's too bad that South Africa has gone down the toilet. It looks like a beautiful place and I would love to vacation there someday.
South Africa is, structurally and wellbeing wise, is much worse now than it was during Apartheid. That is not an endorsement of Apartheid. It is just stating a fact. The infrastructure to take care of citizens ran smoother. There was less crime, less poverty, less rape, less AIDS. There was however injustice. It makes sense that people who had no experience in ruling and were angry at decades of Apartheid rule would not make the best managerial decisions. But they will gain experience, and the situation will eventually improve. I just hope that the black population there will take all the expertise they can find, even if it comes from white South Africans. As for statistics, a lot of the times it's misleading. I heard that it's pretty dangerous right now in Johannesburg, and that white people don't dare take the public transit. It's a bit sad... but I guess that's how it has to be for now.
Is that right? Let's see, you lived here for several years and presumably had a large number of female friends. Had 17% of them had the experience you describe?
