South African study shows alarming views on sexual violence
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Sexual abuse among South Africa's school goers - girls and boys - is
on the increase despite numerous educational programmes to inform
them on sexuality and HIV/AIDS.
A report by CIETafrica, presented at the public hearings on child
abuse in parliament today, showed one in three children thought they
were infected with HIV, some of them not even sexually active. Some
22% of girls thought they did not have the right to refuse sex with
their boyfriends.
The report is based on two national pilot studies on sexual violence
and HIV/AIDS. In September 2001, CIET interviewed 3,000 adults across
the country and in February this year, 9,300 school-going youth aged
between 12 and 20 years participated in the second study. The group
represented urban and rural settings in all provinces and cut across
all sections of the South African population.
The study shows that boys and girls are victims of sexual abuse and
that both are perpetrators of sexual abuse. One in 20 boys of school-
going age admitted to being sexually abused. Boys under the age of 16
years were as likely to be victims of sexual abuse as girls and in
the age group between 12 and 14, boys were more likely to be abused
than girls. Learners across the age spectrum confirmed in focus
groups that boys were victims almost as often as girls. They related
personal experiences of male on male abuse but also of instances
where older women and even girls from peer groups were the perpetra-
tors.
Dr Andersson said young people in focus groups said it was difficult
for boys to report sexual abuse. "More than one focus groups partici-
pant asked the question: Would you tell the police or your mother
that a group of girls raped you?'"
Other alarming findings are around the expectations of young girls
about sexual behaviour. Some 22% of girls said they did not have the
right to refuse sex with her boyfriend. Some 30% of boys said the
same. Some 21% of girls said girls meant yes when they said no. In
the 12-year-old group there was almost no difference in the number of
girls and the number of boys who said this (22% and 23% respec-
tively). Dr Andersson said this was partly a bravado response to the
constant risk of sexual violence lived by these young people. "It
also sets the stage for more sexual violence."
The CIET study also asked youth about their views on HIV/AIDS. One in
four (26% boys and 23% girls) said they did not believe condoms could
prevent the infection. Asked if they believed having sex with a child
or a virgin could cure HIV/AIDS, 12% of girls and 14% of boys said
yes. Nearly one third (31% girls and 29% boys) said they believed
they could be or were actually infected with HIV.
According to Dr Neil Andersson, executive director of CIET and the
study leader, after filling out the questionnaire young people ap-
proached the field workers with questions about sexual violence and
HIV/AIDS. "Young people probably feel they do not have access to re-
liable information and they certainly don't seem to have adults who
are guiding them in these issues."
Dr Andersson said the CIET study was the beginning of a national da-
tabase on youth experiences of sexual violence and their views on
HIV/AIDS. "For national programmes like the Life Skills Programme and
loveLife to work, planners need to know what youth know and think
about sexual violence and HIV/AIDS. If we are able to extend this pi-
lot to every district in the country, this could provide important
benchmarks for assessing the impact of much needed prevention pro-
grammes."
"It is a matter of urgency to allocate resources to enable studies
like the CIET study to establish the extent and the causes of the
problem, what the solutions are and then to monitor progress of the
steps that are taken to solve and prevent the problem," Dr Andersson
said.
CIET argues that surveys like this national pilot can be rolled out
to every district in every province. This will give youth a chance to
talk about sexual violence, many of them for the first time. And it
gives a message that it is okay to talk about it.
In his presentation to the parliamentary hearings, Dr Andersson
called for serious commitment from the state to go beyond lame pro-
nouncements about morality and to allocate resources to address the
issue of child abuse. "Many schools do not have guidance teachers or
anyone young people can talk with. Many young people do not have ac-
cess to basic information about sexuality and HIV risks."
Released by CIETafrica
For more information call
Marietjie Myburg
Tel: +27-82-773-0879
or
Zelda Tweedy
Tel: +27-82-511-1365
CIETafrica
23 Jorissen Street
11th Floor, Braamfontein Centre
Braamfontein, Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: +27-11-403-4067
Fax: +27-11-403-4069
mailto:mmyburg@ciet.org
http://www.ciet.org
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