One of the harsh realities that the community of eMalahleni has to face is the high number of rape cases being reported.
The police are doing all that they can to combat this.
It is alleged that on the night of March, 17 at about 23:00 a young woman left a tavern situated in Tasbet Park. On her way home she came across two unknown males, one short and the other tall.
The taller suspect allegedly grabbed her by her clothes and then the shorter man started arguing about it.
That was when the woman tried to run away; she ran towards a truck company nearby. She pleaded with the security guard to help but it was of no use because it is believed that the two suspects appeared and threatened to kill him with a knife.
The men allegedly grabbed her and dragged her to a mud house not far from there. The shorter suspect sent the other man back to the tavern to fetch alcohol. It is believed that they would use this to make her unconscious. The men allegedly forced her to drink it all.
When she was done they forcefully undressed her and started to rape her. Allegedly they both took turns, neither one of them used protection. This went on until early the following morning when the suspects had to go to work.
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They left her there. Once she came out of the hut two older women were sitting outside. She explained to them what had happened. They helped her to call her sister who came and took her to the police station.
Another case of rape occurred on March, 16 when a 17 year old girl was allegedly raped by a 30 year old man at Old Coronation.
On March 14, a 26 year old woman had allegedly been raped and assaulted by her boyfriend after he suspected that she was cheating on him. The suspect has not been arrested yet.
On March, 17 the principal of a school in eMalahleni contacted the parents of a 17 year old learner. The principal explained that the child was doing well in school but she must be separated from her landlord. It is alleged that the girl is being raped by their landlord. When the girl was asked how many times this has happened she stated that it’s been more than 20 times. She later stated that she was afraid to tell her mother about this.
These are a few of the many cases that the Witbank SAPS have to deal with daily. These women took the courage to report the case and by taking that courageous leap, others can be helped and encouraged to do the same.
Rape is defined in most jurisdictions as sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, committed by a perpetrator against a victim without their consent.
According to shocking police statistics there were a total of 53 617 sexual offences reported to the South African Police Services (SAPS) in the past year. This translates into 147 cases per day; note that this is only the statistics of reported cases.
Victims of this horrific crime shouldn’t be afraid to speak up. Their courage could possibly protect another victim from this cruel act. The community of eMalahleni must stand up against this and we should make it known that rapists are not welcome in our community.
“Every victim of rape responds differently but it is likely that you will benefit from help. You may feel dirty and want to wash repeatedly, scared and afraid to go out, that it is your fault and that you are guilty or you cannot sleep, have nightmares, cannot eat, and cannot stop crying or that you want to forget it as quickly as possible and get on with your life. None of these responses are unusual or unnatural. Remember that there is always someone to help you. Victim support programmes, psychologists, counsellors, health care or social workers, employers, friends, family or church members. Ask the police official dealing with your case to recommend someone to help you,” advised Captain Eddie Hall from Witbank SAPS.
“You have the right to say no. No one has the right to force you into sexual activity, no matter what your relationship with this person is. This means no one can force you to have sex, or touch you in a sexual way without your consent, or force you to perform sexual activity you find unpleasant or humiliating,” said Capt. Hall.
If you need help you can contact these help-lines: Your local police station or SAPS Emergency Services 10111 , SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, Head Office, Pretoria (012) 393-2363, SAPS Crime Stop 08600 10111.
