Child sexual violence in South Africa

Abstract

Rape is a significant societal problem in South Africa. Both women, young girls, males and members of the Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community are all victims of rape. There is a substantial amount of rapes not reported to the police. The objectives of the research are: to highlight the extent of child rape; to explore the causes; investigation process and possible solutions to child rape. The researcher relies on extensive literature review, reviewing of rape case studies and a number of both international and South Africa legislations in exploring the incident of child rape. The researchers advocate the following solutions to specific crime of child rape plaguing South Africa namely: educating citizens about the specific crime of rape and the level of punishment associated with it; alternatives to use of violence to solve problems; effective and accountable police service; tougher punishment to deter perpetrators of rape; victims support; and setting up of rape preventative programmes.