2009/12/03
TWO little Eastern Cape girls, one a toddler, have been raped in separate incidents – and the suspects in each case are barely older than the victims.
News of the attacks came as the country entered its annual 16 Days of Activism against Women and Child Abuse and marked World Aids Day yesterday.
The increasing number of reports of child-rapes by children is alarming non-government organisations. They called it an indication of deeper social ills.
In the first incident, a six-year-old Mdantsane primary school girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by six boys between the ages of six and nine at a school.
The child’s mother said she was helping her daughter get ready for school last week when she complained that she was sore. Some of the boys at school had “touched” her, she said.
Her mother, who cannot be named, took her to a doctor who confirmed evidence of sexual assault.
“These kids started by touching her on her private parts a number of times,” said her mother, “and last week they decided to penetrate her.
“When I asked her what happened, she cried and told me that six boys did it in the school’s playgrounds. It was a painful experience.”
The child was taken to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital’s Thuthuzela Care Centre for anti-retroviral treatment against HIV and other treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Centre official Nosisi Nangu suggested that the matter be reported to the police.
The mother said she had told the school, hoping immediate action would be taken. But the six boys were still at school.
“The kids were called to the principal’s office and they confessed … they’ve seen it being done by elder people in the township.
“The first thing I expected was the principal to expel these kids after they confessed … for the safety of my daughter and other kids, but nothing has been done.”
The school yesterday refused to comment, referring all queries to Department of Education spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani, who said they were waiting for a medical report before taking any action against the kids.
But the mother said she planned to open a case with the police today.
The police are already investigating the alleged rape of a two-year-old toddler in Mqanduli by two young boys.
Her 55-year-old grandmother said that she noticed the girl had difficulty urinating and was crying a lot on Monday morning. “I discovered that her private part was swollen and bleeding.”
A nurse at Mqanduli Clinic advised her to report a rape case at Mqanduli police station.
The grandmother told police she believed the assault happened on Saturday when she left the child in the care of a 28- year-old relative as the toddler’s mother works in Mthatha as a domestic worker.
The relative said she in turn had left the girl with two boys, aged five and six, and a 10-year- old girl, because she had to take a television set to Mthatha for repairs. Even when she returned she did not suspect anything. But when the children were confronted, they admitted what they did. “The children said the child was raped by the two boys in my father’s bed when I was away. They confessed … in my presence,” she said.
Police spokesperson Dineo Koena said they were investigating and would “ make arrests if necessary”.
Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre director Lesley-Ann Foster said the high level of rapes among children – both boys and girls – from a very young age was an indication of a highly sexualised society. Studies had shown that between the ages of five and 10, children had already internalised gender stereotypes, roles and power. “These roles are entrenched at nursery school level,” she said.
Living Waters official Renette Jarman thought the boys had “ seen it happening somewhere or it’s been done to them … or they are living in one room with adults where they are exposed to all kinds of things”.
She added that as a social worker she had noticed a trend where perpetrators were getting younger and younger, and called for a One-Stop Rape Centre where child victims could be seen immediately. - By BONGANI FUZILE, BONGANI HANS and TARALYN BRO
