darn rape society in south africa

[vedia]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31456652...d_news-africa/

Survey: 1 in 4 South African men admit to rape
Researcher describes findings as 'shocking' but 'not unexpected'
NBC World Blog

updated 8:27 a.m. ET, Sat., June 20, 2009

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - One in four male South Africans surveyed admitted to committing rape, according to a research group.

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.

The finding has cast a harsh light on a culture of sexual violence that victims groups say is deeply embedded in society.
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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.

'Normalized'
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 combating 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.

Sensitive topic
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.

Violence
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 common, 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."

[Sprite09]

WTF is wrong these guys? I think they need major education that rape is not OK culturally. Is it possibly because the legal system is lax too?

[Octavius]

...wow

Makes me sick that rape has gotten "normalized" in that country/culture.

Any person that rapes another ought to be shot in the genitalia, and chained to an immovable rock in the boiling hot sun or freezing cold winter...followed by a bullet to the head after a day of suffering

[wallop]

I hate to say it, but I believe it's a hangover from where Africa is on the scale of civilization development. In early pre-history I imagine rape was very common, particularly between warring tribes (to the victor, the spoils, etc.).

This is still true today in times of war, and it is only in modern, first world armies that this practice is limited (notice I don't say eliminated). I believe there was quite a bit of rape going on in the former Yugoslavia during their wars.

There may be an evolutionary aspect to it as well. After all, those that have the most sex, consensual or otherwise, with the most women are more likely to have their genes passed on. This of course wars with the long and arduous process of raising children. But men are built to succeed in passing their genes on in the face of competition from other men (shape of penis, so-called "killer"/"blocker" sperm, etc.; I'm too lazy to find the links), and I would hazard to say that the woman's feelings were not often consulted.

African culture in many areas is very primitive, stone-age culture that has been forced rapidly into a modern world. That's not an indictment, just reality. They are not at the point where their moral codes have caught up with the outward appearance.

I can go on and on... let's hear from some others...

[AnnaBanana]

I hate to say it, but I believe it's a hangover from where Africa is on the scale of civilization development. In early pre-history I imagine rape was very common, particularly between warring tribes (to the victor, the spoils, etc.).

This is still true today in times of war, and it is only in modern, first world armies that this practice is limited (notice I don't say eliminated). I believe there was quite a bit of rape going on in the former Yugoslavia during their wars.

There may be an evolutionary aspect to it as well. After all, those that have the most sex, consensual or otherwise, with the most women are more likely to have their genes passed on. This of course wars with the long and arduous process of raising children. But men are built to succeed in passing their genes on in the face of competition from other men (shape of penis, so-called "killer"/"blocker" sperm, etc.; I'm too lazy to find the links), and I would hazard to say that the woman's feelings were not often consulted.

African culture in many areas is very primitive, stone-age culture that has been forced rapidly into a modern world. That's not an indictment, just reality. They are not at the point where their moral codes have caught up with the outward appearance.

I can go on and on... let's hear from some others...

+100
So weird to read such an intelligent post on RFD that i actually agree with!

[Sprite09]

In soviet Russia woman rapes men :S http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...28-948,00.html

[pupazzo]

My friend was raped when he was in SA. They thought he was a chick because he had long hair lol

[radeonboy]

Obviously I don't support this stuff in any way, kind or form. I think the criminal should be tortured and killed, personally speaking.

But I think the biggest way to fight this is 1) education in general 2) instill in the minds of the people that these things are wrong any way you look at it.

I remember reading something disturbing about rape in an country that its a problem. I remember reading about a guy who thought by raping women that it would cure them of their AIDS/disease. I mean WTF do you say to this?

Education is key. All these people in third world countries need education to help them out of their circumstances. If they all had better education, it would be world changing.

[flexwong]

south africa better step up security for the world cup in 2010.

[fakishan]

Before giving them education, you might want to pull out all foreign corporations from there so they don't influence the political landscape of the African continent. Instability profits our corporations because then they don't have to deal with environmental and human rights.

Schools won't run without a proper government to manage them.

[Aznkid2000]

In soviet Russia woman rapes men :S http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...28-948,00.html

amazing at the last comment the guy made

[Sepiraph]

Yea SA is a very messed up place, damn shame what happened to that country. One of my coworkers is from there and his mom actually got kidnapped before (she is ok now).

[yucksta]

I hate to say it, but I believe it's a hangover from where Africa is on the scale of civilization development. In early pre-history I imagine rape was very common, particularly between warring tribes (to the victor, the spoils, etc.).

This is still true today in times of war, and it is only in modern, first world armies that this practice is limited (notice I don't say eliminated). I believe there was quite a bit of rape going on in the former Yugoslavia during their wars.

There may be an evolutionary aspect to it as well. After all, those that have the most sex, consensual or otherwise, with the most women are more likely to have their genes passed on. This of course wars with the long and arduous process of raising children. But men are built to succeed in passing their genes on in the face of competition from other men (shape of penis, so-called "killer"/"blocker" sperm, etc.; I'm too lazy to find the links), and I would hazard to say that the woman's feelings were not often consulted.

African culture in many areas is very primitive, stone-age culture that has been forced rapidly into a modern world. That's not an indictment, just reality. They are not at the point where their moral codes have caught up with the outward appearance.

I can go on and on... let's hear from some others...

Are you serious?

Rape was also very commonly perpetuated by the so-called "civilized" Europeans and Arabs that came to Africa, colonized it, stole its people and resources ...

I'm sure in no way has the brutal history of oppression in South Africa by its invaders had an influence on the violence that plagues that country today by setting a model for the expression of power in this society, it's all due to the native South African people's backwardness..sure!

The reasons for the violence against women in South Africa like anywhere else are a bit more complicated and interwoven with the overall history of South Africa than an arm chair analysis on an internet forum can provide.

But I'll say this, personally I don't buy the it's because they're primitive argument. There are many so-called "primitive" populations whose moral codes and ways of living could teach us a thing or two about how to treat one another...and it wasn't too long when civilized Europeans were running around raping the natives from Australia to South America, with men like Thomas Aquinas arguing that rape was better than masturbation....

My 2 cents.

Peace.

[nuberific]

Are you serious?

Rape was also very commonly perpetuated by the so-called "civilized" Europeans and Arabs that came to Africa, colonized it, stole its people and resources ...

I'm sure in no way has the brutal history of oppression in South Africa by its invaders had an influence on the violence that plagues that country today by setting a model for the expression of power in this society, it's all due to the native South African people's backwardness..sure!

The reasons for the violence against women in South Africa like anywhere else are a bit more complicated and interwoven with the overall history of South Africa than an arm chair analysis on an internet forum can provide.

But I'll say this, personally I don't buy the it's because they're primitive argument. There are many so-called "primitive" populations whose moral codes and ways of living could teach us a thing or two about how to treat one another...and it wasn't too long when civilized Europeans were running around raping the natives from Australia to South America, with men like Thomas Aquinas arguing that rape was better than masturbation....

My 2 cents.

Peace.

+1 I was thinking something along those lines but couldn't find the words to articulate it. The worst thing is when western people screw a place up, then we turn around and say, 'Damn, those people sure are primitive! They should do exactly what we did so they can become civilized like us (minus the part where we committed necessary atrocities of course). And of course we'll sit by and conveniently generate enormous profits while you sacrifice your natural, social, and political capital.'

[jayisthebest88]

I hate to say it, but I believe it's a hangover from where Africa is on the scale of civilization development. In early pre-history I imagine rape was very common, particularly between warring tribes (to the victor, the spoils, etc.).

This is still true today in times of war, and it is only in modern, first world armies that this practice is limited (notice I don't say eliminated). I believe there was quite a bit of rape going on in the former Yugoslavia during their wars.

There may be an evolutionary aspect to it as well. After all, those that have the most sex, consensual or otherwise, with the most women are more likely to have their genes passed on. This of course wars with the long and arduous process of raising children. But men are built to succeed in passing their genes on in the face of competition from other men (shape of penis, so-called "killer"/"blocker" sperm, etc.; I'm too lazy to find the links), and I would hazard to say that the woman's feelings were not often consulted.

African culture in many areas is very primitive, stone-age culture that has been forced rapidly into a modern world. That's not an indictment, just reality. They are not at the point where their moral codes have caught up with the outward appearance.

I can go on and on... let's hear from some others...

I was gonna say the same thing but in a slightly more racist way.