The Nature of Rape in the Mankweng Policing Areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the community members’ perceptions on the nature of rape in the selected Mankweng policing areas of Limpopo Province, South Africa, namely: Mentz, Ga-Makanye and Ga-Thoka. The qualitative research approach was followed, coupled with the Q-methodology research design and exploratory research objective. About 30 participants were purposively sampled to form part of the Three (03) Focus Groups Discussions (FGDs), consisting of 10 targeted groups, this was aided by the review of seminal literature studies and theoretical [Differential Risk Model] applications on this subject. The inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used as a data analysis method. From the consulted studies and empirical study findings, 03 major factors emerged to explain nature of rape existing in the selected study locations, demarcated as follows; 1) Historical context of rape, which include men that are raised in families with strong patriarchal structures and more likely to become violent and force themselves on women, as they feel superior to them, 2) Social context of rape, entailing gender inequality in South African societies where women possess limited powers and authorities, while men impose notions of masculinity, controlling and perceiving that they own women’s sexuality; and 3) Economic context of rape, explaining how poverty and unemployment are cited as some of contributing factors exposing women to socio-economic vulnerability, such as engaging in transactional sex. From the cited studies, 03 study themes emanated from the conducted empirical fieldworks (FGDs), namely: 1) Unlawful high prevalence of rape activities, 2) Rape committed against the will of potential victims, and 3) Rape involving physical intercourse or other forms of sexual penetrations carried out against any potential victim’s will. This study recommends that youth in the selected study locations should be trained and educated to become peer educators to learn more about the nature rape, it is hoped that this can enhance understanding of this phenomenon in their respective communities, while promoting gender equality in an attempt to urgently re-address the 03 existing characteristics of this scourge. Equally, the utilisation of biological evidence against rape cases can be touted as one of modern interventions to offer proper and successful investigation of this crime. This can be enhanced by improving by information exchange gathered through closer collaborations, interactions, intelligence and enforcement practices, while providing better understanding of the nature and extent of this scourge.
References
Anderson, V.N., Simpson-Taylor, D and Herrmann, D.J. (2004). Gender, age, and rape-supportive rules. Sex Roles, 50(1), 77-90. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000011074 ...
Auster, C.J and Leone, J.M. (2001). Late adolescents’ perspectives on marital rape: The impact of gender and fraternity/sorority membership. Adolescence, 36(141), 141.
Bezuidenhout, C (Editor). (2011). Southern African perspectives on fundamentals criminology. Cape Town: Pearson Education Publishers.
Blondeel, K., De Vasconcelos, S., García-Moreno, C., Stephenson, R., Temmerman, M and Toskin, I. (2018). Violence motivated by perception of sexual orientation and gender identity: A systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, 96(1): 29. https://doi.org/ 10.2471/BLT.17.197251.
Braun, V & Clarke, V. (2014). What can “thematic analysis” offer health and wellbeing researchers? International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 9(1): 1-2. https://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v9.26152.
Brennan, I.R., Moore, S.C and Shepherd, J.P. (2010). Risk factors for violent victimisation and injury from six years of the British Crime Survey. International Review of Victimology, 17(2), 209-229. https://doi.org/10.1177/026975801001700204.
Brown, A.L., Testa, M and Messman-Moore, T.L. (2009). Psychological consequences of sexual victimisation resulting from force, incapacitation, or verbal coercion. Violence Against Women, 15(8): 898-919. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801209335491.
Burt, M.R. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of personality and social psychology, 38(2), 217. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.38.2.217.
Carrow, D. (1980). Rape: Guidelines for a community response. Washington DC: United States Department of Justice.
Cinini, S.F. (2015). A victimological exploration of the victimisation vulnerability of a group of foreign nationals in the city of Durban. Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis. Glenwood: University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Cowan, G. (2000). Beliefs about the causes of four types of rape. Sex Roles, 42(9), 807-823. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007042215614.
Creswell, J.W., Klassen, A.C., Plano Clark, V and Smith, K.C. (2011). Best practices for mixed methods research in the health sciences. Bethesda: Maryland: National Institutes of Health.
Davies, M, Austen, K and Rogers, P. (2011). Sexual preference, gender and blame attributions in adolescent sexual assault. The Journal of Social Psychology, 15 (5): 592-607. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2010.522617.
De Vries, H, Eggers, SM, Jinabhai, C, Meyer-Weitz, A, Sathiparsad, R and Taylor, M. (2014). Adolescents’ beliefs about forced sex in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 43(6): 1087-1095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0280-8.
De Vries, H, Eggers, SM, Jinabhai, C, Meyer-Weitz, A, Sathiparsad, R and Taylor, M. (2014). Adolescents’ beliefs about forced sex in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 43(6): 1087-1095. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0280-8.
Fattah, E.A. (2000). Victimology Today: Recent theoretical and applied developments. Resource Material Series, 6:60-70.
Fattah, E.A. (2000). Victimology: Past, present and future. Criminologie, 33: 17-46. https://doi.org/10.7202/004720.
Ghanotakis, E., Bruins, M., Peacock, D., Redpath, J and Swart, R. (2007). Stop prison rape in South Africa. Agenda, 21(74), 68-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2007.9674878.
Hattingh, M. (2011). Any man can rape: Male students talk about rape. Unpublished Honours Treaty, HTTMIC003, Department of Psychology. Rondebosch, Cape Town: University of Cape Town.
Jewkes, R. (2002). Intimate partner violence: causes and prevention. London, England: Lancet.
Jewkes, R., Sikweyiya, Y., Morrell, R and Dunkle, K. (2011). Gender inequitable masculinity and sexual entitlement in rape perpetration South Africa: findings of a cross-sectional study. PloS One, 6(12): 29. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029590.
Jewkes, R and Abrahams, N. (2002). The epidemiology of rape and sexual coercion in South Africa: an overview. Social Science and Medicine, 55(7), 1231-1244. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00242-8.
Lawyer, S, Resnick, H, Bakanic, V, Burkett, T and Kilpatrick, D. (2010). Forcible, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault among undergraduate women. Journal of American College Health, 58(5): 453-460. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480903540515.
Lonsway, K.A and Fitzgerald, L.F. (1994). Rape myths. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18(2):33-164.
Kyngäs, H. (2020). Inductive content analysis. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/33 ...
Mallet, P and Herbe, D. (2011). Does knowledge about sexuality prevent adolescents from developing rape-supportive beliefs? Journal of Sex Research, 48(4):372-380. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224491003794048.
Maluleke, W. (2014). Perspectives on stock theft prevention in the Giyani policing area of Limpopo Province. Unpublished Magister Technologiae: Policing. Soshanguve South: Tshwane University of Technology.
Mathews, S., Abrahams, N and Jewkes, R. (2013). Exploring mental health adjustment of children post sexual assault in South Africa. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 22(6):639-657. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2013.811137.
McMahon, S. (2010). Rape myth beliefs and bystander attitudes among incoming college students. Journal of American College Health, 59(1):3-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/ ...
Mills, S.W. (2010). Consent and coercion in the law of rape in South Africa: A feminist transformative approach. https://cws.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cws/article/view/30783.
Mudzana, P.S. (2016). Factors contributing to non-reporting of rape by school going adolescents in Matsulu Township of South Africa. Unpublished Master of Arts: Nursing Science. Muckleneuk: University of South Africa.
Mukanangana, F, Moyo, S, Zvoushe, A and Rusinga, O. (2014). Gender based violence and its effects on women’s reproductive Health: The case of Hatcliffe, Harare, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 18(1): 110-122.
Oshiname, F.O, Ogunwale, A.O and Ajuwon, A.J. (2013). Knowledge and perceptions of date rape among female undergraduates of a Nigerian university. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 17(3): 137-148.
Peacock, R (Editor). (2013). Victimology in South Africa. 2nd edition. Hartfield: Van Schaik.
Pemmegger, L and Godehart, S. (2007). Townships in the South African Landscape. Physical and Social legacies. Johannesburg: Development Bank of Southern Africa.
Polit, D.F & Beck, C.T. (2008). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. 8th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Reddi, P. (2006). Role of the Victim in the Criminal Justice Process: Student Bar Review, 18(1):1-24.
Reyes, H.L.M and Foshee, V.A. (2013). Sexual dating aggression across grades 8 through 12: Timing and predictors of onset. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(4): 581-595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9864-6.
Rhoades, G and Brown, Z. (2019). Practical research methods in education: An early researcher’s critical guide. London: Routledge.
Richter, L, Norris, S.A and Ramjith, J. (2015). Early sexual debut: voluntary or coerced? Evidence from longitudinal data in South Africa-the Birth to Twenty Plus study. South African Medical Journal, 105(4): 304-307.
Rosenberg, J. (2006). The importance of fathers in the healthy development of children: Child abuse and neglect user manual series. United States: Unites States Department of Health and Human Services.
Safta, M. (2018). Building a culture of lawfulness through legal education. Georgia: Institute of Economics and Social Research.
Salkind, N.J. (2012). Exploring research. 8th edition. United States of America: Pearson.
Schreck, C.J., Miller, J.M and Gibson, C.L. (2003). Trouble in the school yard: A study of the risk factors of victimisation at school. Crime and Delinquency Journal, 49(3):460-484. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128703049003006.
Shields, P.M. & Rangarajan, N. (2013). A playbook for research methods: Integrating conceptual frameworks and project management. Stillwater: New Forums Press.
Skinner, T. & Taylor, H. (2009). Being shut out in the dark: Young survivors’ experiences of reporting a sexual offence. Feminist Criminology, 4(2):30-150. https://doi.org/10.1177 ...
South African Police Service. (2021/2022). Third quarter stats third quarter crime statistics 2021/2022 document. https://www.saps.gov.za/services/crimestats.php.
Van Decraen, E, Michielsen, K, Van Rossem, R, Temmerman, M and Herbots, S. (2012). Sexual coercion among in-school adolescents in Rwanda: prevalence and correlates of victimisation and normative acceptance. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 16(3): 139-153.
Van Exel, J and De Graaf, G. (2005). Q-methodology: A sneak preview. https://qmethod.org/portfolio/van-exel-and-de-graaf-a-q-methodology-sneak-preview/.
World Health Organisation. (2015). Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-(stis).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
