Black Men Raping Babies in South Africa - An Epidemic

October 15, 2003

The number of rapes of women and girls have increased dramatically in the past five years.. Now, there has been a spate of baby rapes by black men, most of whom are HIV positive. Driving the attacks is their belief that having sex with a virgin, such a month old baby girl will cure them of AIDS.

Baby rapes occur daily in South Africa.

Sexual violence pervades the South African society. It has the highest reported rates of rape in the world, and an alarmingly high incidence of domestic violence and child abuse.

Women, children and babies bear the brunt of the violence and depravity.

Mainstream media largely ignores this issue in order to perpetuate the Mandela myth of the wonderful "New" South Africa.

The underlying reasons are political correctness, the Mandela myth, apartheid race-blame and affirmative action (replacing whites with blacks).

The truth is black male relatives rape black babies.

There is something very wrong with the psyche of black South Africans that a segment of their population can stoop to such a level of depravity and perversion..

Statistics of baby rape:

South Africa Human Rights Commission found the judicial system failed to meet the needs of raped children and it traumatizes the survivors of child sexual abuse.

Annually, twenty-one thousand cases of child rape occur in South Africa and less than one in ten results in a conviction. The number of unreported incidents could be up to 10 times that number.

About 58 babies and children are raped or the victims of rape attempts in South Africa every single day.

Baby Rape Cases

These few cases illustrate the problem. There are thousands of babies in similar situations who are forgotten or unknown to authorities:

October 2001 - Baby "Tshepang" was just 9 months old when she was brutally raped and sodomized in the Northern Cape town of Louisvale. She was found screaming and bleeding by her teenage mother. The rapist was arrested in March 2002 and convicted in July 2002.  The judge sentenced 23-year-old David Potse to life in prison plus 18 years.

November  2001 - A nine-month-old baby girl from Kimberley in the Northern Cape survived a rape and underwent a full hysterectomy and further surgery to repair intestinal damage.

October 2001 -  A month-old baby girl was raped, allegedly by her uncles, in Tweeling in the Eastern Free State. The mother had left the baby in the care of the men when she went to visit her mother-in-law.

December 2001 - Two men appeared at a court in Johannesburg  accused of raping a five-month-old girl who was discovered covered in blood and in tears.

July 2002 - A week-old baby girl was raped in South Africa, making her the youngest victim in a spate of child rapes fueled by the myth that sex with a virgin cures AIDS.

March 2002 - Two-year-old, Thendo Nenzhelele of Limpopo Province died because she was raped and sodomized.  Her rapist and killer is walking free after police bungling. A policeman examined her corpse and decided "nothing was wrong".

Many rapists go beyond penile penetration, and use objects such as broken bottle tops, sticks or harmful liquids. These are pushed or inserted into the baby's vagina.

Why are babies raped?

There are many "reasons", mostly excuses. The perpetrator has yet to be the focus and rarely is he held accountable for his actions.

Here are some factors:

◊   Deterrence is non-existent - the sentences are light.
◊   There is widespread societal acceptance of this depravity.
◊   There is widespread poverty and unemployment.
◊   Many believe apartheid broke down the family unit and molestation of children and infants is a symptom of this degeneration.
◊   Fathers fail to show their sons that women and children have value.
◊   Doctors are reluctant to confirm or report baby rapes.
◊   The South African government does not work hard to dispel the myth that having sex with a virgin will cure or prevent AIDS.
◊   Alcohol and drugs help fuel the depravities.
◊   Men believe they are sexually entitled to women so rape is OK.
◊   Girls are told it is OK for her to have sex with her uncle and other male relatives. The perception that it is, it is nice for an older man to have sex with a young girl.
◊   Girls do not know about bad touches".
◊   Traditional healers, or witchdoctors tell men that sex with a virgin cures AIDS. This encourages baby rape.

South Africa has the highest number of HIV-positive citizens on earth. One in eight South Africans are infected with the virus.  In 2001 five million people in South Africa, were infected with HIV or AIDS, according to the  United Nations. So-called virgin rape, is increasing in countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence such as South Africa.

◊   The criminal justice system fails women and children in South Africa. Baby rape is not a priority.
◊   Police are arrogant, insensitive, incompetent, and lack professionalism. They investigate few cases and people are afraid to report the crime.

Solutions

Society much change the way it sees females and realize they have value and deserve respect. It is not right for girls to have sex.

Educate girls and women about sex and motherhood.

Provide child abuse education for everyone. 

Educate men and boys so they understand that rape is WRONG and that it will not cure AIDS. They must understand they are NOT entitled to sex..

Physicians must report all rapes.

Make traditional healers, or witchdoctors part of the solution or discredit and marginalize them.

Empower women to take action and indemnify them if they do.

Provide post-exposure prophylaxis after rape to help prevent HIV infection. This is important because rape victims  in South Africa have a 40 percent risk of HIV infection.

Develop a realistic AIDS program that includes education and medicine.

Change the criminal justice system so cases are taken seriously and laws applied consistently. The maximum sentence for rape is life but rarely imposed.

Police must  take all cases seriously and investigate them vigorously to bring the rapists to justice. Fire incompetent police and train those with potential.

Improve the economy to generate more jobs and provide education to people so they can fill those jobs.

Conclusion

South Africa can solve this but lacks the will to do so. Its leaders are mired in blaming whites and the West in general. Excuses and blame do not solve problems. It appears the rape of  thousands of babies and very young girls has not galvanized the government to act decisively.

The failure of the South African society to address baby rapes means they are not truly free.