South Africa: Power Through Sexual Violence

“There’s a stranger in my bed”, sings popular idol Katy Perry in her song Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).  Most people in the United States would find this situation ludicrous, but for Pearl Mali, a 16-year-old South African girl, these lyrics are a reality.  From the age of 12, she had been a victim of daily rape by an elderly man her mother brought home to cure her homosexuality before being thrown out onto the streets for being “hopeless” (Carter) .  Women and homosexuals like Pearl are preyed upon by the dominant, straight males as a result of the South African government’s homophobic and misogynistic foundations, leading to increased incidents of rape and sexual violence.

In South Africa, there is no tolerance for L.G.B.T., and many homosexuals and transgenders are often subject to corrective rape, a form of sexual violence used to cure the victim of their sexual orientation (Carter).  Homosexuality is painted as a sin in the Christian nation, but it does not stop there- in society, all women are perceived as weak due to the majority of acts of sexual violence being aimed towards them (Mauriss).  This allows men to take advantage of the “weaker” women, often resulting in rapes.  Men can even legally treat their wives as property through the traditional practice of lebola, in which men negotiate prices for their brides (Turner).  This serves to further increase male-chauvinism while lowering the status of women and the odds of female empowerment against sexual violence.  With the estimate that one woman is raped every 26 seconds (Turner), rape and sexual violence rates are revealed to be quickly escalating within the country as a result of society’s beliefs.

In fact, South Africa currently holds the world’s highest rape rates with 74,400 people expected to be sexually assaulted in the month of August alone (Mauriss).  What accounts for these record-high rates?  The South African government refuses to acknowledge the problem, and 2008 president Thabo Mbeki accused activists of perpetuating the racist notion that African men are “rampant sexual beasts” (The Economist).  As a country that has only recently overcome their racist history, the government has become more focused on preventing racism than any other issues, allowing incidents of sexual violence to be ignored.  Furthermore, according to the scholarly journal, The Lancet, only 14% of reported rape perpetrators will be convicted (Turner).  Victims cannot even trust the police, as 1,400 serving police officers, or about one in 100, have a criminal record, many previous rapists (Turner).  Without the government’s aid, victims feel hopeless enough that they believe reporting rape to be a waste of time, decreasing awareness of the extensive problem.  With a society founded on the focus of males gaining and consolidating power (Mauriss), societal values teach men to seek to establish their dominance while suppressing others through acts of sexual violence.

Although rape is a problem shared by every country, none have experienced it on the level of South Africa.  However, in recent years, the country has attempted to take steps to fix the problem.  A general lack of access to information and services has led to the development of new education programs targeting the young (Turner).  In addition, anti-rape campaigns have been launched throughout the country (Turner), yet only time will tell if they will successfully obviate the issue.  Until then, teens like Pearl will continue to tell their stories to those who will listen, patiently waiting for the day they will finally be welcomed home.  

Works Cited

Carter, Claire. "The Brutality of ‘Corrective Rape’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 July 2013. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

"IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State." New Aid for Rape Victims. 03 June 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

Mauriss, Samantha. "Washington State University." Spring 2015 Sexual Violence in South Africa A Form of Government Power Comments. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

"The new face of AIDS; Women and HIV." The Economist [US] 27 Nov. 2004: 82(US). Global Issues In Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

"The problem of rape in Africa; South Africa, in particular, is almost alone in the sheer numbers of rapists there." Spectator[Hamilton, Ontario] 17 Sept. 2013: A13. Global Issues In Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Turner, Mariel. "Speak Out: An In-Depth Look at Rape in South Africa." Medill Reports Chicago. 06 Apr. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.