This week, Siyayinqoba Beat It! looks at how the dual epidemics of HIV and gender violence may overlap in South Africa. It is estimated that there is a rape every 26 seconds in the country which also has the highest HIV incidence in the world. Given that rape rarely occurs in circumstances where a condom will be used, the risk of transmitting HIV is very high. Overwhelmingly gender violence is directed towards women but the recently amended Sexual Offences Act defines and criminalizes rape irrespective of gender.
To explore this issue our CJs met two young South Africans, one female and one male (who chose to remain anonymous), each of whom are rape survivors. First we visit Kliptown in Soweto, where 18 year old Mandisa Madikane spends her time playing soccer with boys while avoiding conversations with girls which centre around boyfriends and sex. The reason for her unease goes back many years. At the age of six Mandisa was raped by a neighbour. The man told Mandisa not to say anything and initially she was too scared to talk. Eventually she told her mother and grandmother what had happened and received medical attention and counseling.
However, due to the unavailability of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) at the time, she was not given treatment for the prevention of HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. Two years later Mandisa fell sick and doctors established that she was HIV positive. Although Mandisa’s family knew of her status, it was years before an aunt disclosed it to her. Mandisa began receiving therapy and made the decision to get tested to confirm her status. She now helps other people in similar circumstances.
The Sexual Offences Act criminalizes any act of illegal sexual penetration committed by any person on a woman or a man. Nonetheless, stigma, shame and silence around rape remain high and particularly so with regards to the rape of men. In our next insert we meet a young man in KZN who was gang-raped by six men. In 2002 he was running a youth organization which included a programme focusing on homosexuality. “I think there were people who didn’t like the fact that we did this,” he explains. He was kidnapped, blindfolded and told by his abductors that “they were going to teach me a lesson.” Each man in turn then raped him.
Fearing the damage disclosing the incident may do to the organisation, the young man kept his ordeal to himself for over a week. He neither reported the crime to the police nor did he go to a clinic. Eventually he confided in his sister who urged him to see a doctor. He received an HIV test and PEP but was told that, due to the time-lapse since the incident, it might not work.
While the student has received support from various structures set up to assist someone who has experienced the trauma he has, some scars remain. With men often unwilling to report rape it is difficult to say how common it is and stereotypes still prevail which hold that men cannot be raped. However, Noluthando Ntlokwana of Iilitha Labantu, hopes that expansion of the definition of rape under the Sexual Offences Act may eliminate some of these stereotypes and prompt more men to report rape. Much though is still to be done to protect all South Africans, regardless of gender, from sexual abuse and stigmatisation.