The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. Police statistics of reported rapes as a per capita figure have been dropping in recent years, although the reasons for the drop have not been analysed, and it is not known how many rapes go unreported. More women are attacked than men, and children have also been targeted, partly owing to a myth that having sex with a virgin will cure a man of HIV/AIDS. Rape victims are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS owing to the high prevalence of the disease in South Africa. "Corrective rape" is also perpetrated against LGBT men and women.

The South African Government has established several measures, including legislation and initiatives, to prevent and combat the problem. These include the establishment of the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit (SOCA) in 1999 and the network of Thuthuzela Care Centres. These are sexual violence support centres which employ a transdisciplinary approach to dealing with the aftermath of an assault, and are considered by the UN as a best practice model.

Sexual violence in South Africa has been widely reported in both local and international media.

Statistics Official police statistics South Africa's Police Service (SAPS) releases the country's crime statistics. The crime category "sexual offences" includes a wide range of sexual offences, including rape, sexual assault, incest, bestiality, flashing, and other crimes. SAPS releases statistics on reported rapes every quarter, as well as an annual report (financial year, April thru March each year). The figures in the following table include reported rapes only. +Number of reported rapes and rape rate in South Africa Originally published 22 June 2016; updated with 2019/2020 stats. PDF Year Reported RapesReported Rape Rate per 100,0002008/946,647952009/1048,259962010/1148,158952011/1247,069912012/1348,408922013/1445,349852014/1543,195802015/1641,503772016/1739,828712017/1840,035712018/1941,583722019/2042,289722020/2136,3302021/2241,739

Surveys and other studies

Violence against women and children

In 1998, one in three of the 4,000 women questioned in Johannesburg had been raped, according to Community Information, Empowerment and Transparency (CIET) Africa. And while women's groups in South Africa estimated that (as of 2001) a woman was raped every 26 seconds, the South African police estimates that a woman is raped every 36 seconds.

The comprehensive study 'Rape in South Africa' in 2000 indicated that 2.1% of women aged 16 years or older across population groups reported that they had been sexually abused at least once between the beginning of 1993 and March 1998, results which seem to conflict starkly with the MRC survey results. Similarly, the South African demographic and health survey of 1998 gave results of rape prevalence at 4.0% of all women aged between 15 and 49 years in the sampled households (a survey also performed by the Medical Research Council and Department of Health)."Rape in South Africa ." Stats SA.

South Africa has some of the highest incidences of child and baby rape in the world, with more than 67,000 cases of rape and sexual assaults against children reported in 2000, with welfare groups believing that unreported incidents could be up to 10 times higher. The humanitarian news organization IRIN estimated that around 500,000 rapes were committed in South Africa each year. More than 25% of South African men questioned in a survey published by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in June 2009 admitted to rape; of those, nearly half said they had raped more than one person.

The 2022 gender-based violence study conducted by South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council found that 9.8% of women nationally had experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes, regardless of partnership status. 7.9% had experienced lifetime sexual Intimate partner sexual violence, while 7.5% of South African men had perpetuated intimate partner sexual violence in their lifetimes. The study found that "lifetime sexual violence was significantly higher among women who were cohabiting but not married [14.9%] compared to women who were currently married [8.5%]".

Violence against the LGBT community Violence against gender minorities is common in South Africa, with 48% of lesbian women reporting having experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

A 2019 study found that the majority of the violence against LGBTQ people in South Africa was linked to homophobia, noting that "more than half of all participants (61%), and two out of three Black participants (67%) felt that the violence they experienced was linked to their sexual orientation and gender identity. Among gender minority participants [transgender and nonbinary individuals], this was even higher, at 70% of participants".

Comparing their findings to other research on sexual violence amongst the population at large in South Africa, the study notes that "the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence among LGBTQ people is very much higher than among the general population". On violence victimization along racial lines, it noted that "black participants had also experienced slightly higher levels of all forms of violence, compared to white participants, although these differences were not always statistically significant".

Violence against men The 2022 gender-based violence study conducted by South Africa's Human Sciences Research Council found that 2.3% of adult South African men had been sexually victimized in their lifetimes (outside of the home), whilst 1.3% had admitted to sexually assaulting other men.

Regional differences

There are deviations in sexual violence rates in different provinces of South Africa.

In a study of three South African provinces (Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo) in 1997, 6.8% of women surveyed in Mpumalanga said they had been raped during their lifetime, 5.0% of women surveyed in Limpopo had been raped, and 4.5% of women in Eastern Cape had been raped. In 1998, the region of Gauteng accounted for the largest percentage of prisoners in custody for sexual offences with 20.6%, and the Western Cape had the second largest percentage with 17.3%. The province with the least percentage of prisoners convicted of sexual offences was Northern Cape with 3.8% and Limpopo with 2.6%.

The South African Crime Survey 2003 highlights the regional differences of citizens' perceptions and fears. Surveying what type of crime respondents thought occurred most in their area of residence, 14.6% of Northern Cape respondents reported that they believed rape to be the most prevalent type of crime. While the Northern Cape had the largest percentage of respondents who believed rape to be most prevalent, the province of KwaZulu-Natal had the least, with 1.7%.

Averaging all provinces, rape ranked 7th in the crime that respondents thought was most prevalent, after housebreaking, property theft, robbery, murder, livestock theft, and assault. This survey also investigated what type of crime respondents feared most in their area. Rape ranked third in this category after only murder and housebreaking. 40.8% of respondents in the Northern Cape and 31.8% of respondents in Free State feared rape the most. On the other side of the spectrum, 11.6% of KwaZulu-Natal and 12.1% of respondents in Mpumalanga stated rape as the crime they were most afraid of in their area.

By September 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that sexual violence against women had grown in South Africa, The nation's "Mother City" Cape Town has seen an extended use of military deployment to combat sexual violence against women as well.

Types Violence against women The South African government reports that one of these reasons is the culture of patriarchy in South Africa. Its report states that patriarchy is firmly rooted in black and white culture, and fighting it is seen as attempting to destroy South African tradition or South African ideals.

The danger from rape and sexual assault is compounded because of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South African townships. A woman being raped over the age of 25 has a one in four chance that her attacker is HIV positive and more women than men are affected from HIV/AIDS. The perpetrators of rape in South Africa tend to be men known to the victim. It is reported that a husband or boyfriend kills a woman every six hours in South Africa. Many men and women say that rape cannot occur in relationships; however, one in four women reported having been abused by an intimate partner. In 1993 South Africa outlawed marital rape. In September 2019, President Ramaphosa responded to a surge in violence against women by calling for the passage of laws making rape punishable by death and called an emergency session of the South African Parliament.

Violence against infants and children

South Africa has some of the highest incidences of child and infant rape in the world. The Tears Foundation and the MRC stated 50% of South Africa's children will be abused before the age of 18. The MRC study stated that, in 2009, 15% were under 12 years old. In 2017, the police reported that 9% of reported rape are those of children nine years old or younger, with agencies reporting an increase throughout the country. Although there are varying numbers on the number of reported rapes of children, one report states that in 2000, 21,538 rapes and attempted rapes of children under the age of 18 were reported and another from 2001 states that there were 24,892 rapes. Child welfare groups believe that the number of unreported incidents could be up to 10 times that number. The largest increase in attacks was against children under seven. A trade union report said a child was being raped in South Africa every three minutes."South African rape survey shock." BBC News. 18 June 2009. Some cite a 400% increase in sexual violence against children in the decade preceding 2002 and that it may still be on the rise. A third of cases involve a family member or close relative.

Many high-profile infant rapes appeared since 2001 (including the fact that they required extensive reconstructive surgery to rebuild urinary, genital, abdominal, or tracheal systems). In October 2001, a nine-month-old girl named Tshepang was raped by an HIV-positive man and had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery in Cape Town. In February 2002, an eight-month-old infant was reportedly gang raped by four men. One has been charged. The infant has required extensive reconstructive surgery. The 8-month-old infant's injuries were so extensive that increased attention on prosecution has occurred.

A significant contributing factor for the escalation in child abuse is the widespread myth in HIV ravaged South Africa that having sex with a virgin will cure a man of AIDS. This virgin cleansing myth exists in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The child abusers are often relatives of their victims and are at times their fathers or providers.

Corrective rape

Lesbians in certain parts of South Africa also face a dangerous environment. Raping lesbians (a practice referred to as corrective rape) is believed to convert them to heterosexuality.Yolanda Mufweba, "'Corrective rape makes you an African woman'", Saturday Star, 7 November 2003 The South African government reported to CEDAW that lesbians and gays are discriminated against in many spheres. The government has been accused of condoning the practice for fear of not appearing "macho".Kelly, Annie, "Raped and killed for being a lesbian: South Africa ignores 'corrective' attacks", The Guardian, 12 March 2009

One notable case of this was the gang-rape and murder of Eudy Simelane, a member of the South African football team and LGBT-rights activist. Thirty-one lesbians have died from these attacks in the last 10 years, and more than ten lesbians per week are raped or gang-raped in Cape Town alone.