A bizarre belief among African black men that sex with a virgin -- even a child or baby -- can cure HIV/AIDS is fueling what is already one of the highest child sexual exploitation rates in the world.
58 Children and babies raped in South Africa per day
Rape of children and even babies has now reached alarming proportions in South Africa. Children are the victims of 45 percent of all rapes reported in the country. More than 20,000 child rapes are reported every year… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Women's groups estimate that a child is raped every 15 minutes.
The number of child rapes in South Africa is so embarrassing that the government has placed a moratorium on government crime statistics.
Child protection officers in Gauteng have a caseload at any one time of about 80 cases, and about 85 per cent of those cases are chronic, which means the abuse has been going on for a long time.
The incidents of baby rape in South Africa are truly horrifying. Babies as young as only a few months old are being raped almost daily.
In Soweto, 70 percent of the cases dealt with by the region's new sexual offenses court are of children. The youngest case of rape here was of a 3-month-old; in other parts of the country there have been reports of sexual attacks on newborn infants.
Reports by the South African Press Association of high profile baby rapes since 2001 (including the fact that they required extensive reconstructive surgery to rebuild urinary, genital, abdominal, or tracheal systems) contain items such as these:
A nine-month-old baby girl from Kimberley in the Northern Cape who survived a gang rape by six men, aged between 22 and 66, underwent a full hysterectomy and will require further surgery to repair intestinal damage, a hospital spokesperson said. The baby from Louisville was left unattended by her 16-year-old mother when six Upington men allegedly raped her. The infant required extensive reconstructive surgery, had undergone a full hysterectomy and she suffered extensive damage to her colon and anus as well.
Three days before the 9-month-old baby was raped, a 3-year-old was raped by her grandfather. In the same week, a 14-month-old toddler was raped by her two uncles.
A 4-year-old girl died after being raped by her father.
An 8-month-old infant was reportedly gang raped by four men. One has been charged. Her injuries were so extensive, increased attention on prosecution has occurred.
A month-old baby girl was raped, allegedly by her uncles, in Tweeling in the Eastern Free State after the mother of the child had left the baby in the care of the men when she went to visit her mother-in-law. Upon her return, she found the baby crying and as she lifted her, she saw blood on her bottom. She then took the baby to a clinic where she was told the girl had been raped and sustained vaginal damage.
In other reported cases, rapists have gone beyond penile penetration, using objects including broken bottle tops, sticks or harmful liquids that are pushed or inserted into the victim's vagina.
Two held for rape of minors
June 24 2009
Two men were arrested for allegedly raping young girls in Katlehong, south of Johannesburg on Wednesday, police said.
The first man was arrested for allegedly raping his four-year-old niece after offering to bathe her, Sergeant Obakeng Tsomane said.
"The girl's mother suspected there was something wrong when her daughter behaved strangely after bathing on Tuesday night."
The girl's mother reported the matter to police on Wednesday morning and the 42-year-old man was arrested.
In a separate incident in the same township, a 48-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping his neighbour's three-year-old daughter on Wednesday morning. The girl had been left in the care of her elder siblings when the alleged rape took place.
"The older siblings were playing outside and didn't realise she was missing. When they saw her again, she told them the uncle from next door did something to her."
The girl's sisters called police and reported the matter.
A doctor confirmed penetration and the man, from Moleleki section in Katlehong, was arrested.
The two men were expected to appear in the Alberton Magistrate's Court on Thursday. - Sapa
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