1 In 4 South African Men Surveyed Admit To Rape

[Heracles 417]

1 In 4 South African Men Surveyed Admit To Rape

Medical Research Council Survey Says 1 In 4 South African Men Admit To Rape

(AP) A leading South African research group said one in four male South Africans it surveyed admitted to committing rape _ a finding that cast a harsh light on a culture of sexual violence that victims groups say is deeply embedded in society.

According to police statistics, some 36,000 women were raped in 2007 _ nearly 100 per day. But victim support groups and government-backed research say the vast majority of rapes go unreported because of the stigma and trauma involved. South Africa is home to about 50 million people.

The government-funded Medical Research Council, whose findings often influence official policy, said it conducted the survey to deepen understanding of men's attitudes and behavior.

Chief researcher Rachel Jewkes said Friday that the findings were "shocking" but "not unexpected." Opposition political parties said they were horrified, but victim support groups said they were not surprised.

"The report indicates that rape has become 'normalized' as a feature of masculine identity in a society that has emerged from years of oppression _ a tragic development for both women and for men," said Anne Marie Goetz, chief of the Governance, Peace and Security section of the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

"The implications of this are grave for women's security but also for long-term development, which relies upon deepening gender equality," Goetz said.

South Africa's newly installed president, Jacob Zuma, has made combatting crime one of his top priorities and has set up a new ministry to promote women's and children's rights.

The government had no immediate comment, but the study is expected to be one of the focal points of a conference on sexual violence early next month.

"Rape is a crime of a sense of entitlement. It comes from a notion of power," Jewkes said, adding that South Africa's male dominated cultural traditions were partly to blame.

"I don't think there is a quick fix," said Jewkes. "If people were concerted about trying to fix it, it would take a generation."

Researchers interviewed men from just over 1,700 households from a cross-section of the population in the rural provinces of the eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The survey gave no margin of error. The research council is internationally respected and regarded as reliable. It said it surveyed a representative cross-section of men of all races in the two provinces, which are representative of South Africa.

It was not immediately known if any comparable surveys on this sensitive topic have been published. Sexual abuse is rife in a number of African countries but none have the sophisticated survey methods of South Africa, and in some other countries it is a taboo subject.

Nearly 28 percent of men interviewed said they had forced a woman or girl to have sexual intercourse against her will, according to the survey. It said that 14 percent said they had raped a former or current girlfriend; 12 percent said they had raped someone who was not their partner; and 10 percent said they had raped both a stranger and a partner.

The research council survey said that nearly 20 percent of those who admitted sexual abuse had the AIDS virus _ only slightly higher than the 18 percent infection rate among men not involved in rape.

It said that 17 percent of the men surveyed admitted to attempted rape, and 9 percent said they had taken part in gang rapes. In all, 42 percent of men surveyed said they had been physically violent to an intimate partner (current or ex-girlfriend or wife), including 14 percent in the past year.

"Our study suggests that the pathway which leads to these ideas and the practices of rape and other forms of violence toward women starts in childhood," said Jewkes, head of the research council's gender and health unit. She said the results backed up findings of earlier research among younger men.

She said that "rape is far too ommon, and its origins too deeply embedded in ideas about South African manhood," for it to be regarded merely as a criminal problem which could be solved by prosecuting the rapists.

"You can't change behavior practiced by one quarter of the population if the main strategy is through the use of police and courts," Jewkes told The Associated Press. "The police and courts are important but they are only part of the solution."

Many victim support groups complain that rape cases are repeatedly postponed and little is done to protect the woman from the trauma of facing her tormentor. Most cases don't even reach court.

"Rape is one of the most brutal human rights violations in the world," said Maria Jose Alcala, who heads the U.N. development fund's effort to curtail violence against women. "It is a stark manifestation of just how little value our societies place on the lives and dignity of women and girls."

___

Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/19/...in5098877.shtml

Edited June 22, 2009 by Constellation

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

i wonder how that compares to other countries.

[Heracles 417]

i wonder how that compares to other countries.

Here are the US rape stats. It would be a little tricky to figure out exactly watch percentage of men have raped a woman.

---------

Rape/Sexual assault

---------

---------

White Victims: 194,270

Race of offender

White:50.6%

Black: 16.7%

Other: 15.5%

Not known: 17.2%

---------

---------

Black Victims: 17,920

Race of offender

White: 0.00%

Black: 43.0%

Other: 32.3%

Not known: 24.7%

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus0602.pdf

Edited June 22, 2009 by Constellation

[Heracles 417]

Those are for 2006.

[alienlovechild 75]

The research council survey said that nearly 20 percent of those who admitted sexual abuse had the AIDS virus _ only slightly higher than the 18 percent infection rate among men not involved in rape.

Probably more had AIDS than were willing to admit it.

Black Victims: 17,920

Race of offender

White: 0.00%

Black: 43.0%

Other: 32.3%

Not known: 24.7%

There were no documented cases of a white rapist and a black victim for 2006. That one seems hard to believe.

[DEDixon 39]

This is the same South Africa where Nelson was President, same South Africa where the people stood in mile long lines to vote, the South Africa that was lead by white people 20 years ago?

I wonder if the white people are still there too. If not there, where did they go?

[Heracles 417]

The research council survey said that nearly 20 percent of those who admitted sexual abuse had the AIDS virus _ only slightly higher than the 18 percent infection rate among men not involved in rape.

Probably more had AIDS than were willing to admit it.

Black Victims: 17,920

Race of offender

White: 0.00%

Black: 43.0%

Other: 32.3%

Not known: 24.7%

There were no documented cases of a white rapist and a black victim for 2006. That one seems hard to believe.

*Estimate is based on 10 or fewer sample cases.

Page 30.

2005 seems to be the same.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Is it the country South Africa or the region below North Africa? AIDS AIDS AIDS is all I can think of when I read this! In my last city we had a man from Africa lure a girl to his apartment when she was an alumni visiting for a game and he raped her and threatened to kill her so that sticks in my mind. Then over here we are getting coverage on the Amanda Knox trial in Italy and the story of the 21 year old man from Africa that raped and slit the throat of her flat mate so that sticks in my mind too. Then I think about Darfur and how the men use rape as a strategy of war in the Sudan region and that just below Egypt. So I kinda get sick to my stomach thinking about all this rape in my face.

[Heracles 417]

Is it the country South Africa or the region below North Africa? AIDS AIDS AIDS is all I can think of when I read this! In my last city we had a man from Africa lure a girl to his apartment when she was an alumni visiting for a game and he raped her and threatened to kill her so that sticks in my mind. Then over here we are getting coverage on the Amanda Knox trial in Italy and the story of the 21 year old man from Africa that raped and slit the throat of her flat mate so that sticks in my mind too. Then I think about Darfur and how the men use rape as a strategy of war in the Sudan region and that just below Egypt. So I kinda get sick to my stomach thinking about all this rape in my face.

They have a huge problem over there when it comes to this and violence. There have been quite a number of similar incidents involving immigrants from such regions to new countries.

I think this is the one huge mistake most countries make with new immigrants, that is, not explaining our huge cultural differences. Anyone who is not from a first world country, should be required to sit a course to understand our laws and what is not acceptable in our society.