WTF South Africa? WTFF?

[danalwyn]

If you were wondering if the world is still a fucked up place, well then I have your answer; it still is.

The survey size is small; the survey itself is geographically limited, but still. One in four? One in four? And more then once? I don't have to crunch the ugly statistics for you to get an idea of what this means on the victim side of the

Comments

[silverjackal]

This sadly doesn't surprise me. It fits with the limited reporting of sex crimes in places like South Africa and Zimbabwe over the last decade or so. The latter is a country where there is the belief that sex with a virgin cures AIDs, for example, so to make sure the girl is virgin they'll rape a six year old. Then people wonder why societies in such countries are falling apart? Certainly, it's also tied to instability and military conflict, but it's part of the root instability, not purely a result of it in my opinion. What can be done about it? I wish I knew the answer to that.

(As a side note -- relatively insignificant compared to the massive tragedy of the crimes themselves, these are the countries that Shrub's "abstinence only" stance on birth control deprived of much of their already very limited means of sexual education, contraception, and STD prevention. The myths and misinformation around sex in many African societies also don't bear repeating -- I could start, but then I would rant, and it's not helpful. Married women taking part in educational programs where they've learned about condoms have been denounced by their husbands and stoned as adultresses, for example. Not for having an affair, but for knowing about condoms. Others were killed or cast out for asking their husbands to use protection because they already have more children than they can feed. Officially sanctioned sexual slavery exists. Organized gang rapes.. the list goes on, and on, and on.)

I think I'm going to go sit outside with a book. If I think about it too hard, I might be willing to join you in arson.

[danalwyn]

I'm familiar with the virgin curing AIDS one, and it's always ugly.

I think it would help if there was some kind of consistent authority; without it I doubt if a better situation is going to get better. But I don't know the answer on a scale that doesn't involve the word "generations".

One of the problems with sexual politics is the conundrum that it seems, historically as well as now, men are just better at the direct application of violence, and they're holding onto their advantage into the age of firearms. Until you restore some measure of rule of law, there will be no time to establish any sort of the institutions that in the developed world that allow for correction of excesses. Women's rights can only improve in these places if there is some force that can stand up to the violence (organized or disorganized) that will be directed against it, and I don't know where that can come from.

The problem is that I don't see how this order can be projected from outside except by a process that takes centuries, and I don't see that being viable.

This makes my head hurt, and makes me remember why everyone hates African strategy.