By Melanie Nathan, May 03, 2012
40% of child sex offenses are committed on children by other children; is that the new South Africa’s legacy?
Teenagers and minors are raping women in South Africa Over. See the shocking CNN Video linked below which tells the story of a young 8 year old girl who was left blind and mutilated by a fellow student who raped her.
The boy blames being teased by others accusing him of being gay on the horrific crime he committed. There can be no excuses only responsibility and it must be shared by perpetrators and system alike.
While homophobia is rampant in a South Africa that boasts an all inclusive constitution it is merely reflective in this case – the problem is much larger.
An expert speaks about how boys are raised in a system where father’s are not present and how their ability to empathize and social skills are impacted. No one addresses blame. After reading the following CNN article of a current case and then viewing the CNN report of other such cases, I am left pondering about the ANC. The party of hope which promised a better South Africa after the end of Apartheid. I ask a simple question:- “Better for Who?”
It is time for South Africans to reflect on their past, to look at the present lack of services to poor and injustice of corruption and dilatory enforcement and then to reflect on the future – maybe its time for a new party to try their hand at running this rainbow country that once had so much hope!
Recent Headline Case as Reported on CNNWorld News | Minors in Rape Case released on Bail:-
According to a CNN world report, four minors accused in a brutal videotaped gang rape of a mentally disabled teenager were released on $67 bail Thursday. However, tThe boys fear for their safety and will not be returning to their homes because of anger in the community, lawyer William Karam told CNN.
A South African court has already determined that three of the four will face full prosecution.
The court has not made a ruling on how to prosecute the fourth minor suspect, a 13-year-old. South African law presumes children up to the age of 14 to be “criminally incapable.”
Prosecutor Carina Coetzee said the four minors were placed under house arrest, according to the South African Press Association.
The four are among eight suspects charged with kidnapping and raping the girl. Three are adult teenagers seen on the video and the other suspect is a 37-year-old man who was found with the victim. The images of the assault of the 17-year-old girl, believed to be mentally ill, swept across the Internet last month and touched a nerve in South Africa.
The shocking footage shows the girl pleading for her attackers to stop, and it has some activists saying it is an example of the country’s problem with rape.
The girl went missing on March 21. Police suspect she was kidnapped and turned into a sex slave.
The cell phone video of her gang rape surfaced and went viral among schoolchildren in Soweto, a vast township near Johannesburg.
This case is shocking and highlights a number of significant problems with the ANC’s President Zuma and his ludicrous administration in South Africa. Since the ANC took control it has failed to control crime, especially violent crimes against women and other sexual minorities such as gays and lesbians.
The incidence of rape in South Africa and especially in the townships, where very little has changed since apartheid ended, is extraordinarily high – one of the highest in the world, estimating that one in four women are raped.
The problem rests with corrupt officials and tardy law enforcement. Perhaps cases such as this will shed light on the need for dramatic change to an administration that has failed on so many levels.
Bail laws are different in South Africa; rather than setting high unaffordable bail to keep accused persons in jail, bail is denied. However when bail is set, then the intent is such that the accused can afford same and be released and in such hence it is set at affordable amounts that are considered onerous to the accused.
read More in the CNN report
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=world/2012/05/03/mabuse-safrica-rape-case.cnn
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WTF!? Where is the international outrage here? Why aren’t heads of state coming down hard on SA? Where are the world’s embargoes to show widespread horror & disgust that a gov’t would condone it’s youngest/weakest citizens being brutalized…sick, sick, sick bullies in charge in South Africa.
Only just happening. I am breaking it internationally not in news yet and its also only up for consideration and discussion at this time.,But that in itself is just awful.
How appalling. I am in shock over this. How can we be so evolved in some areas of the planet and so animalistic in others? No matter what age, such cruelty cannot go unpunished to the full extent of the law. I only hope their law is strict enough! Disregard for women in arcahaic societies must stop now!!!!!
http://www.change.org/petitions/south-african-constitutional-review-comittee-protect-the-constitution-of-south-africa-as-it-is