Spike in rape cases
Just before the nation embarks on the 16 Days of Activism campaign against women and child abuse (25 November), a two-year-old child is undergoing medical assessments after she was allegedly raped by her neighbour in Nseleni last Friday
A DARK cloud of violence hangs over the region as crimes against women and children continue to spike, with four rape cases in less than a week reported.
Just before the nation embarks on the 16 Days of Activism campaign against women and child abuse (25 November), a two-year-old child is undergoing medical assessments after she was allegedly raped by her neighbour in Nseleni last Friday.
Police said the victim was found by her brother at the neighbour’s house.
The boy carried her back to her house and told their mother.
In another similar incident in Nseleni, a 10-year-old girl said she was also raped by her neighbour.
According to Empangeni Child and Welfare Office Manager, Hlengiwe Phakati, child rape remains a huge problem in the region.
‘The Thuthuzela Centre at Ngwelezana Hospital is often inundated with such cases. They sometimes refer victims to us for counselling and in most cases the perpetrators are known to the victim.’
A third case of rape was reported in Nseleni when a 34-year-old woman was brutally attacked by her ex-boyfriend after she refused to resume their relationship.
According to a police source, the man called the victim to his house last Saturday to discuss their relationship
problems.
‘An argument ensued and the suspect locked the doors and raped the woman,’ said the source. In Mevamhlope, just outside Empangeni, another woman fell victim to violent crime when she was gang-raped last Friday.
‘The victim was sleeping in her house with her boyfriend when men forced their way into the house and threatened them with a bush knife,’ the source said.
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