South Africa, the world’s rape capital

Let’s heed Principal and Vice-Chancellor Prof Mandla Makhanya’s call to think about what each of us can do about this scourge that confronts our wonderful country. As the VC said: “Surely, we cannot be proud when the rest of the world views us only through this lens because this is what they are reading about in the news.” Let’s join this national initiative and wear black tomorrow to create more awareness and show our support.

On Valentine’s Day, when the world celebrates the positive aspects of sexual love, it is beyond disturbing to realise that, by the time you have read this article, at least two women will have been raped in South Africa. That is because, on average, a woman is raped every four minutes in the country.

In fact, various media reports last year stated that Interpol named South Africa as the world’s rape capital, and said women were more likely to be raped than educated. A 2009 Medical Research Council study found that one in four South African men admitted to raping a woman.

Despite these frightening statistics, experts said while rape in South Africa is common, it barely makes the news. The last massive public outcry was about a year ago, when a 17-year-old mentally disabled girl from Soweto was gang raped by young men who videotaped her and offered her 25 cents to keep quiet.

However, the recent death of 17-year-old Anene Booysen, who was gang raped, mutilated and left for dead, has stirred the wrath of South Africans frustrated by a national epidemic of sexual violence.

Yale World Fellow, Sisonke Msimang from Sonke Gender Justice Network expressed the emotions many South Africans feel:  “I will cry, as I have been already this morning. And maybe, I will begin to feel my way out of the lurching, heavy knowing after I have spoken with others. With the mothers and the sisters, the brothers and fathers – those like me, who have girls … Anene was raped and mutilated because she was a girl. It was her vagina and her breasts that they wanted to destroy. It was her walk and her talk. It was her girl-ness. These parts of her were broken and sliced and pulled apart, not by monsters, but by friends. Each of her ten fingers were broken.”

Academics speak out

Academics have also added their voice to the chorus of outcries, addressing various topics related to rape and violence against women in South Africa.

Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor Prof Mandla Makhanya said he felt absolute disdain and contempt for the scourge of rape and harassment to which the women and children of South Africa are exposed. He said surely South Africans cannot be proud when the rest of the world views us only through this lens because this is what they are reading about in the news.

Addressing Unisa staff he said: “The latest very cruel and deplorable case of a young 17-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Bredasdorp enticed me to emphasise to all of you that we need to take a stand against this unacceptable behaviour. We all need to pause and consciously reflect on the values of respect for life, and the dignity of each fellow human. We are all part of civil society and rape and violence affects every one of us, no one is exempt. We cannot sit back and wait for others to set the foundation for change – that role belongs to all of us.”

Addressing the problem

Gender unit director at the Medical Research Council Prof Rachel Jewkes said rape is about a culture where young men feel they have a right to a woman’s body. She said almost half of the gang rapes in South Africa were prearranged, the victim was also mutilated and the attack was “virtually always an act of revenge by a man who knows her”.

Eusebius McKaiser, an associate at the Wits Centre for Ethics, and a talk show host on Talk Radio 702 said Booysen’s case has shattered the silence around the country’s rape crisis, which seldom gets the national attention it deserves.

He believes that South Africa needs to address the factors that partly explain why rape is so prevalent; “after all, no one is born a rapist”. Factors, he said, stem from not dealing with the violence during apartheid which became normative and has remained that way, inequality in a deeply divided society, the lack of better and healthier male role models for boys and young men, and the weakness of the country’s criminal justice system, with low conviction rates for sexual violence.

Christo Cilliers, a health expert in Unisa’s Communications Science Department, said, “unfortunately”, boys learn their first modes of behaviour at home. “We all know that gender (masculinity) is constructed – so boys learn how to act, and re-act towards women from what they learn at home.  Men in general and fathers, specifically, should be aware that their sons learn from them.”

He also said it was important for South African police to be trained as experts in dealing with rape and sexual violence.  “Police members dealing with rapes should be trained as counsellors in trauma and rape counselling.”

Advocating for special courts

The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) advocated for special courts for rape victims to be established immediately, and said that the high prevalence of rape and other forms of sexual violence raise fundamental questions about the Criminal Justice System. The council’s spokesperson, Nomboniso Gasa, said: “We need to look at the establishment of special courts to deal with sexual violence, to deal with domestic and family violence … The Government must think very hard.”

Professor Amanda Gouws from the University of Stellenbosch agreed that a sexual offences court was needed to tackle the rape epidemic in South Africa.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Justice Navi Pillay urged for a more comprehensive approach to tackling the problem. “There is a need for very strong signals to be sent to all rapists that sexual violence is absolutely unacceptable and that they will have to face the consequences of their terrible acts. The entrenched culture of sexual violence which prevails in South Africa must end.”

She said while there were legal frameworks and some initiatives, much more needed to be done. “I am deeply disturbed by the fact that arrest and conviction rates of rape perpetrators remain extremely low. This is not only a shocking denial of justice for the thousands of victims, but also a factor that has contributed to the normalisation of rape and violence against women in South African society.”

Pillay added: “Violence against women is not only a human rights violation, it is also a brutal manifestation of wider discrimination against women, which is to be understood against the background of subordination of women within the patriarchal system that still exists in South Africa … South Africa’s Constitutional Court has emphasised that there is an obligation on the State to protect women against violence.”

Additional reading:

Read End culture of rape in 2013 by Lauren Wolfe, an award-winning journalist and the director of Women Under Siege.

Read Here’s what we can do about rape by Yusuf Abramjee, Prime Media’s head of news and LeadSA chairperson.

*Compiled by Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester and Rajiv Kamal

http://www.unisa.ac.za/news/index.php/2013/02/south-africa-the-worlds-rape-capital/

Warning Signs of Abuse

Warning Signs of Abuse

Abuse can be inflicted in many ways, in many places, and by a range of people who have power over their victim for a variety of reasons. This can make abuse difficult to identify, but this article tells some warning signs of abuse you can be aware of. Abuse can range from out-of-bounds demands on a worker by an employer to verbal, physical, psychological, or sexual mistreatment in venues that range from home to work to school.

Abuse can be inflicted by family members, so-called friends, teachers, employers, bullies, and romantic partners. Because abuse is so varied in its type, perpetrator, locale, and effects, the signs can be very different in different case, making abuse difficult to identify. Here is some information that may help you to pick up on warning signs of abuse. It's good to be aware that a single sign may have explanations other than abuse, so while being careful not to jump to conclusions, if you notice these signs, you should seriously consider the best course of action.

Talking About It . . . or Not In cases of abuse in which the abusive conduct is not criminal but definitely out of bounds, (for instance, a boss expecting an employee to do personal errands for him or her or a person making unreasonable demands on a spouse, child, or other family member), the person who is subject to the abuse is likely to complain about the situation.

Even though the mistreated person may not confront the abuser, he or she may be quite vocal with friends and family or even with colleagues. So complaining can be a sign of abuse.

This type of abuse can grow insidiously and slowly take over the victim's life. Because the encroachment is slow, the victim of this type of abuse may need a reminder from outside to recognize how outrageous the situation has become. When the situation is more dire, victims may speak out at either the first instance of abuse or if something changes in a way that makes things insupportable.

For example, a woman may put up with an abusive husband, but leave if she perceives her child to be in danger from him. However, in many cases, abuse is not discussed. Often, the person being abused is the victim of criminal acts, ranging from assault and battery to rape, and is too afraid, embarrassed, guilty, or ashamed to tell. An abuser may threaten a victim, making him or her afraid to tell. In addition, a victim may feel that the abuse reflects poorly on him or her, making the victim ashamed or embarrassed to tell. If the victim was warned against the abuser, then he or she may feel guilty for having gotten involved with him or her.

When this approach is taken, warning signs may include secretiveness, rather than complaints.

Now You See It; Now You Don't

Physical injuries occurring with no reasonable explanation or occurring frequently may be another sign of abuse. The victim may try to cover these up with long-sleeved clothing, make-up, scarves, or other means.

Another thing you may not see in cases of abuse is the victim. Especially if they live in the same household, the abuser may want to control the victim to the extent that the victim is rarely allowed to leave the house, no longer allowed to be in contact with friends and family, etc.

 If someone you know is not only out of touch, but either doesn't answer the phone or has to end calls suddenly, as if fearful that innocent conversations are unacceptable, the source could be abuse.

Children Who Are Being Abused

The signs of child abuse may be more obvious because children are likely not to be as skilled at covering them up, but many of them may not point directly to abuse, but could be the product of a variety of issues or even, in some cases, just one of those moments in normal development.

These warning signs that may not prove abuse, but may point to other issues that should be followed up) include:

trouble sleeping, whether difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep or nightmares or not wanting to go to bed or fear of the dark mood swings or depression and withdrawal loss of appetite on the one hand or food addiction on the other seeming inattentiveness or daydreaming regressive behavior that would be within the normal range for a younger child anxiety injuries that do not have reasonable explanations substance abuse change in behaviors like hugging or kissing parents goodnight truancy running away self-injury suicide attempts or ideation secretive behavior
Changes in toileting behavior, including pain, knowledge of sexual activity or vocabulary that is not age-appropriate, or sudden strong negative reaction to be touched are signs that are less equivocal.

If you suspect someone may be being abused, but the signs are not clear, seek the advice of a trusted professional, either a licensed health care worker, a social worker, or a minister, priest, or rabbi. If you are afraid there is serious abuse taking place now or a crisis, it may be wise to call a crisis hotline or the police.

http://www.troubledteen101.com/articles69.html

Childhood physical and sexual abuse may increase risk of early or late onset menarche

Childhood physical and sexual abuse may increase risk of early or late onset menarche

Published on July 28, 2012 Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found an association between childhood physical and sexual abuse and age at menarche. The findings are published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Researchers led by corresponding author, Ren-e Boynton-Jarrett, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at BUSM, found a 49 percent increase in risk for early onset menarche (menstrual periods prior to age 11 years) among women who reported childhood sexual abuse compared to those who were not abused. In addition, there was a 50 percent increase in risk for late onset menarche (menstrual periods after age 15 years) among women who reported severe physical abuse in childhood. The participants in the study included 68,505 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II, a prospective cohort study.

"In our study child abuse was associated with both accelerated and delayed age at menarche and importantly, these associations vary by type of abuse, which suggest that child abuse does not have a homogenous effect on health outcomes," said Boynton-Jarrett. "There is a need for future research to explore characteristics of child abuse that may influence health outcomes including type, timing and severity of abuse, as well as the social context in which the abuse occurs."

Child abuse is associated with a significant health burden over the life course. Early menarche has been associated with risks such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, cancer and depression, while late menarche has been associated with lower bone mineral density and depression. "We need to work toward better understanding how child abuse influences health and translate these research findings into clinical practice and public health strategies to improve the well-being of survivors of child abuse," added Boynton-Jarrett.

Source: Boston University Medical Center http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120728/Childhood-physical-and-sexual-abuse-may-increase-risk-of-early-or-late-onset-menarche.aspx