Why, when and how men rape: Understanding rape perpetration in South Africa

Abstract

This article reports the findings of research conducted with a randomly selected sample of men aged 18–49 years from the general population of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, who were asked in an anonymously conducted survey about their rape perpetration practices, motivations, and consequences thereof. Overall 27,6 per cent (466/1686) of men had forced a woman to have sex with them against her will, whether an intimate partner, stranger or acquaintance. Some perpetrated alone, others with accomplices. Most men who had raped had done so more than once, started as teenagers, and often had different types of victims. Asked about motivations, men indicated that rape most commonly stemmed from a sense of sexual entitlement, and it was often an act of bored men (alone or in groups) seeking entertainment. Rape was often also a punishment directed against girlfriends and other women, and alcohol was often part of the context. A third of men had experienced no consequences from their acts, not even feelings of guilt. More commonly there was remorse and worry about consequences, and in a third of cases there had been action against them from their family, that of the victims, or respected community members, and about one in five had been arrested for rape. This research confirms that rape is highly prevalent in South Africa, with only a small proportion of incidents reported to the police. Many of the roots of the problem lie in our accentuated gender hierarchy. This highlights the importance of interventions and policies that start in childhood and seek to change the way in which boys are socialised into men, building ideas of gender equity and respect for women.

Coming of age? Women’s sexual and reproductive health after twentyone years of democracy in South Africa

“…Most rape perpetrators are known to survivors. 72 South African teenagers experience a high incidence of violence in their first sexual encounter. 21 Post-apartheid, advocacy has also focused on specific forms of sexual violence, such as ukuthwala -the abduction, forced marriage and rape of young girls -a distortion of a past custom for consenting eloping young adult couples.…”

A nonviolent pedagogical approach for Life Orientation teacher development: the Alternatives to Violence Project

“…In the last decade, numerous studies (Altbeker, 2008(Altbeker, , 2011Cooper & Foster, 2008;Foster, 2012;Graham, Bruce, & Perold, 2010;Jewkes, Sikweyiya, Morrell, & Dunkle, 2010;Ward, 2007; have explored the causes of South Africa's high rates of violence. Of particular concern is adolescent and youth violence because it is implicated in the rise of gangsterism (Pinnock, 2015;.…”

‘If you’d had my life, you’d have done it too’: exploring the experiences of adult males who rape elderly females

“…Extensive research has been conducted to develop an understanding of men who sexually offend against children (Gannon & O'Connor, 2011;Ciardha, 2011;Mcphail, Hermann & Nunes, 2013;Babchishin, Nunes & Kessous, 2014;Sigre-Leirós, Carvalho, Nobre, 2015) and men who rape adult women (Gannon, Collie, Ward, & Thakker, 2008;Groth & Birnbaum, 2013;Langton & Marshall, 2001;Jewkes, Sikweyiya, Morrell & Dunkle, 2014). In comparison, there is limited research focusing on sexual offences against the elderly (Ball, 2005).…”