This is according to the Policy Development and Advocacy Fellow at the Sonke Gender Justice, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane. He tells OFM News that, in instances when women and children are raped, men try to assert their control. This comes in the wake of rape incidents of women and minors, as young as four years old, in the Free State. On Friday, seven-year-old Nthabiseng “Mingy” Makhoba was buried after her decomposing body was found in the informal settlement of Caleb Motshabi, known as Dinaweng, outside Bloemfontein. Mokgoroane adds that men tend to target those who are deemed as marginalised in terms of power.

Earlier this month, Apaphia Modise, who leads the South African Police Service (SAPS) Thabong Cluster in the Free State, said that she was 'concerned' about the rising number of rape cases reported in communities such as Meloding and Thabong. Modise said via a press statement that the cases involved women and children who "become victims under various circumstances which include alcohol abuse and neglecting their own safety". Modise said this after a 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped on March 2019 in Meloding while she was returning from a tavern, at about 4 am, with a friend. 

Mokgorane says, in most cases, men use their economic, structural and financial power to have a hold on their victims and continue to rape them. He further says society has not yet created a conducive environment for rape victims to come forward and to express themselves.

OFM News