South Africa has a rape-problem, one that started as early as 1998 according to a report by the United Nations Office on Crimes and Drugs for the period 1998–2000 in which South Africa was ranked first for rapes per capita – making us the ‘Rape Capital’ of the world.
Not only do we have a ‘rape’ problem, we’ve got a ‘prevalence’ problem too – with 40% of all South African women estimated to be raped at least once in their lifetime.
eMalahleni is not free of this scourge, in fact – our humble town seems to have a rape problem all on its own.
On April 2, Lerato Gwala* invited her boyfriend over to the room which she was renting.
She needed to have a serious conversation with him about his behaviour because she felt objectively abused by him.
Ms Gwala hoped that by having a mature discussion about their problems, that she and her boyfriend might be able to put an end to their constant fighting. Unfortunately, Ms Gwala’s assumption was incorrect.
Her boyfriend arrived at the room which she was renting and allegedly immediately began demanding that she have intercourse with him.
When Ms Gwala refused, he allegedly grew furious and forced himself on her – proceeding to rape her.
On the same day, at approximately lunchtime, Ms Tinky Duma headed over to her boyfriend’s home.
She wanted to patch things up with him; they had just had quite a big disagreement and she didn’t want him to stay upset with her.
Ms Duma tried to talk things out with her boyfriend, but it soon became apparent that they would not be able to reach a mutually-amiable agreement on the issues at hand.
At this point, Ms Duma tried to leave her boyfriend’s house – to which her boyfriend responded by allegedly beating her and locking the door that leads out of his house.
He then forced Ms Duma onto his bed, where he allegedly raped her whilst he held a knife to her throat.
On April 6 *Sarah Bhengu was on her way home from work – absent-mindedly crossing the railway line in Klarinet – when suddenly she heard someone calling her from behind.
Certain that it was a friend or acquaintance trying to get her attention, Ms Bhengu spun around… and to her surprise was met by a strange man who she had never seen before.
The strange man pulled Ms Bhengu into a nearby bushy area, where he allegedly demanded that she undress for him.
The suspect, agitated by how slowly Ms Bhengu was undressing, allegedly ripped off her jersey and proceeded to rape her.
After the suspect had finished, Ms Bhengu recounts watching him calmly walk away; leaving her naked and humiliated in the brambles and dirt.
It is estimated that only one in every four cases of rape is reported to the police.
If you, or someone you know, has been a victim of sexual violence; please do not hesitate to report it to Witbank SAPS on 013 655 5052.
*Names of victims of sexual violence changed in order to protect their identities.
