Madam Deputy Speaker, South Africa has one of the highest rape statistics in the world. It is common knowledge that only one in ten rapes is reported to the police but some nongovernmental organisations believe the figure to be as high as one in 15. On the basis of these estimates, it is calculated that one rape occurs every 20 seconds.
So, even if one stands on a street corner for 20 minutes - as a former Minister of Safety and Security infamously said - and no rape occurs, at least 60 rapes have occurred around the corner or on the next street somewhere in South Africa during that time. It is totally unacceptable that women and girls, and in some cases even men, cannot walk the streets safely without the fear of being raped. We must all work together to claim back the streets for ourselves.
Since 1991, the 16-days campaign has helped to raise awareness about gender violence and has highlighted its effects on women globally. Each year, thousands of activists from all around the world utilise the campaign to further their work to end violence against women.
It has challenged policies and practices that allow women to be targeted for acts of violence. It has called for the protection of people who defend women's human rights and it has demanded accountability from states, including a commitment to recognise and act upon all forms of violence against women as human rights abuses.
The 2007 16-days campaign seeks to dismantle obstacles and overcome challenges posed by social attitudes and policies that continue to condone and perpetuate gender-based violence. These include: demanding and securing adequate funding; calling for greater accountability and political commitment from states to prevent and punish all forms of violence against women in practice, and not just in words; increasing awareness of the impact of violence against women; including engaging in measures to end it by men and boys; evaluating the impact and effectiveness of work to prevent violence against women; and securing the space for advocacy and defending the defenders of women's human rights in their work to end gender-based violence.
Against this background it is quite extraordinary that South Africa refused to support a UN General Assembly resolution condemning rape used as a weapon of war. What makes it even more peculiar is that South African women, including our present Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Zuma and Public Service Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, were instrumental in getting rape declared as a war crime at the Beijing Conference in 1995.
It is important that we understand the impact this violent crime has on its victims. When a woman is abused, the damage extends far beyond her. The psychological effects of rape result in a pattern of reaction called Rape Trauma Syndrome, which is suffered by many rape survivors. Rape is not just about unwanted sex; it is a highly traumatic experience and, like other serious traumas, it has negative effects on those who survive it.
Rape is usually experienced as life-threatening, and an extreme violation of a person. It does not only have an effect on the victim but it is also very traumatic for the family, friends and colleagues. The effects of rape are long-term, maybe even lifelong, and although rape survivors never forget being raped, they may eventually learn how to deal with the memory. The negative effects of rape are not yet widely known or recognised in South Africa. In fact, many of our courts are still operating under the false impression that rape is merely unwanted sex, and therefore it does not damage rape survivors in the long term. Rape Trauma Syndrome is only now being introduced as evidence in South African courts.
Freda Adler says, and I quote, "Rape is the only crime in which the victim becomes the accused". Unfortunately, this is so true. With all the emotional problems arising from the rape that women have to endure, during the police investigation and the medical investigations a second round of victimisation usually occurs in the process.
Our justice system does not have mercy for hundreds of rape victims. We have a woman Minister of Justice. She must ensure that rape victims are treated with dignity and respect, and that justice is swiftly and effectively done.
Rape is about power and not sex. A rapist uses actual force or violence, or the threat of it, to take control of another human being. Rape is a crime, whether the person committing it is a stranger, a date, an acquaintance or even - and shamefully - a family member. There is a well-known saying, "if you strike a woman, you strike a rock".
"Wathinta abafazi, wathinta imbokodo". [... you strike a woman, you strike a rock.]
We, the men and women of South Africa, must remember that these women of rock, this backbone of our society, should never have to endure the suffering and humiliation of rape.
This violent and hateful act will shatter any rock into a million pieces. Can South Africa afford a million little pieces of rock? [Applause.]