Elderly women raped in rural areas
Several women, over the age of 50 years, speak to Review about their experiences...
POLOKWANE – Rape should never be a common occurrence, especially for elderly women, but in some informal settlements and rural areas in and near the city, it has become part of daily life.
Several of the women, over the age of 50 years, spoke to Review about their experiences on condition of anonymity.
One woman (67) spoke to Review during a tour of Disteneng (an informal settlement) during DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s tour of the area recently.
The woman said older women lay in bed at night expecting to be raped. “The younger men just come into your house and tell you that it is time to have sex. You do not have a choice, what they want they will get, because there is no one to protect you,” the woman told Review.
She said living in an informal settlement or rural area meant there were no locked doors to hide behind and no police station close by. “The nearest police station is almost 10 km away. I do not have money to go there and walking at my age is not an option,” she said.
She said sometimes men came in groups of up to four and when they left there was no way to deal with the pain and humiliation they left behind. Some of the men who raped elderly women were as young as their own grandchildren, she said.
“We just go on the next day, sometimes struggling to walk, but we know there is nowhere to go and no one to tell. If we should say something we know that we would fall victim to a robbery and be killed in the process. For us there is nothing called dignity.” the woman said.
Polokwane police spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba said the police were not aware of these crimes as cases were never opened. Westenburg police station spokesperson capt Mohlaka Mashiane said that the only way the police could act following a crime was when it was reported. He urged the residents to report these crimes.
Social development spokesperson, Adéle van der Linde, said there were several non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) that were concerned about the elderly and their welfare. She said the department of social development fund these NGO’s and one such organisation was Elim Hlanganani Society for the Care of the Aged. They were Elim-based but worked with people throughout the province, she explained. She also said there were victim empowerment centres at the police stations. Personnel at these centres specialised in working with victims of rape and other violence, she added.
Van der Linde said the unfortunate truth was that women and especially the elderly did not talk about what happened to them, leaving them alone and vulnerable to more abuse.
“The message from our side to communities would rather be to report any violence or “neglect” to the elderly and to break the silence so they can be helped, whether it’s taking them to a place of safekeeping or counselling them and help ensure the apprehension of the culprits,” Van der Linde said. She urged the women to report the matters and get the assistance they need to deal with the emotional scars that things like rape leave on them.
Some of the elderly woman have gone to the Rethabile Clinic to be tested for HIV/aids and are awaiting the results of their blood tests.
