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Graphic images of foreign nationals being stabbed and burnt to death have grabbed some attention. But the fuss about xenophobia will soon be forgotten (I’d say within a couple of months) just like xenophobia massacre (60+ dead), which took place in 2008, was soon forgotten. What has changed since then?
The fact is that no substantial action has been taken since the start of democracy, to curb murder, rape, xenophobia and all other forms of crime. Why would ‘we’ suddenly start taking action against attacks against foreigners when for 21 years we have been raping, robbing and massacring our own people?
Rape Capital of the World
Most of us will concede that we have a serious rape problem (crisis), so serious that we have been branded as the “Rape Capital of the World” on numerous occasions. Defenders of the country’s image believe that this is an attempt by “naysayers” to over exaggerate the problem and to damage the image of the country. I believe that being given this dishonourable title is useful, as it creates awareness and will hopefully pressure leaders to take action as the xenophobic images have done, the degree and adequacy of the ‘action’ is however questionable.
The quest to find the answer to the question “are we the Rape Capital of the World?” starts with a simple Google search on “rape per country” and a link to Wikipedia will appear. Here we’ll find a table of 123 countries containing the total number of rapes per year reported and the reported per capita rape rate per year (2003 – 2010). When sorted by total count and then by rate per capital we see the following:
Table A - Total Count 2010
1. USA – 84,767
2. South Africa – 66,196
3. India – 22,172
4. UK (England & Wales) – 15,934
5. Mexico – 14,993
6. Germany – 7,724
7. Australia – 6,378
8. Sweden – 5,960
9. Russian Federation – 4,907
10. Thailand – 4,636
Table B - Rate per 100,000 population
1. South Africa - 132.4
2. Botswana - 92.9
3. Sweden - 63.5
4. Nicaragua – 31.6
5. Granada – 30.6
6. UK (England & Wales) – 28.8
7. Australia – 28.6
8. Saint Kitts and Nevis – 28.6
9. Panama – 28.3
10. Belgium – 27.9
Serious alarm bells should be going off! And yes, to answer your question about those countries that don’t have stats for 2010, we can look at prior per capita figures and see if they’d have an influence on the above ranking. Zimbabwe (25.6 in 2008), Lesotho (82.7 in 2009), Costa Rica (36.7 in 2009), Peru (23.5 in 2009), Iceland (24.7 in 2009). The only challenger appears to be Lesotho, 49.7 per capita behind us.
Then there is the big question about underreporting of rape, which is a problem worldwide. Studies suggest we may have as many as 500,000 rapes per year. The DRC and India, which has also been given the title of “Rape Capital of the World”, are also said to have vastly higher instances of rape than reported. For comparative purposes, we can’t seriously compare our daily crime stats to a war zone (DRC) where rape is used as a weapon of war. Then India, a country of 1.25 billion people (roughly 25 times our population) has a third of our reported instances of rape and a per capital rate of 1.8. We can’t really expect to rank after India after factoring in differences in underreporting (rape in SA is also hugely underreported) and differing definitions of rape.
Those are just the numbers. When we factor in qualitative factors, such as infant rape and corrective rape, the picture gets even more shocking. The terms “corrective rape” has become synonymous with South Africa and we are said to have the highest instances of infant rape in the world. Though there will be no conclusive evidence of this, we see it on a daily basis in the media so it doesn’t come as a surprise. Couple the quantitative and qualitative factors together and it’s undeniable.
From the available data, it is reasonable to conclude that in most likelihood, South Africa is the “Rape Capital of the World”. There is no evidence to support otherwise. But for those of you who differ, let’s agree to differ, for now…
Murder Capital of the World
Let’s talk about murder and associated crimes like culpable homicide and attempted murder. Every year the SAPS released its annual crime stats. Every year I added them up. The results for the 1994/95 – 2013/14 (20 years) is:
· Murder – 409,954 (56 per day)
· Culpable Homicide – 243,939 (33 per day)
· Attempted Murder – 477,024 (65 per day)
That means in 20 years there were 653,893 homicides, or 90 per day. Taking attempted murder into account, over 1.1 million people almost lost their lives to homicide. That’s before factoring in underreporting through negligence and intentional malice. Now let’s compare by again starting with Wikipedia.
Table C - Intentional homicide count per annum (latest)
1. Brazil – 50,108
2. India – 43,355
3. Nigeria – 33,817
4. Mexico – 26,037
5. DRC – 18,586
6. South Africa – 16,259
7. Venezuela – 16,072
8. USA – 14,827
9. Colombia – 14,670
10. Pakistan – 13,846
Table D – Intentional homicide per capita per annum (latest)
1. Honduras – 90.4
2. Venezuela – 53.7
3. US Virgin Islands – 52.6
4. Belize – 44.7
5. El Salvador – 41.2
6. Guatemala – 39.9
7. Jamaica – 39.3
8. Lesotho – 38
9. Swaziland – 33.8
10. Saint Kitts and Nevis – 33.6
11. South Africa - 31
Firstly, we’re amongst some serious bad company, mostly South and Central American countries virtually run by drug cartels (Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Colombia, US Virgin Island and Saint Kitts) and then African countries such as the DRC warzone. Secondly, it needs noted that our murder rate has increased for two consecutive years thus sits at above 17,000 murders a year.
Putting classification (homicide vs murder and culpable homicide) and underreporting aside, it’s undeniable that we are one of the most murderous countries in the world. Qualitatively, we have the second highest number and second highest per capita rate of serial killers in the world, after the USA. The rate of intimate femicide is high (5.6 per capital in 2009), there are continuous hate killings against minorities such as farmers (132.8 per capita in 2014) where overkill is regularly evident, and a victimology that includes a large number of children and elderly.
Urgent, immediate action is required as was the action required each and every year. Yes, the murder rate did decrease for a period, but not to acceptable levels. And now it’s on the rise again. No death penalty. Conviction rate around 10%! No significant efforts to tackle murder.
Murder AND Rape Capital of the World
Compare Table B and Table D, there are only two names that appear on both: South Africa and Saint Kitts & Nevis. With regards to murder, they barely pip us. With regards to rape, they can’t compete. Are we the “Murder AND Rape Capital of the World”? #Shameful
#XenophobiaSA
Currently:
· There are around 48 murders per day
· Another 31 odd die in other homicides
· There are another 47 attempted murders per day
· There are 172 reported cases of sexual assault per day
· There are 960 cases of assault daily
· There are over 4,000 cases of theft and damage to property, daily.
· Hate speech against minorities continues unabated on social media and in general, where people sing “kill the boer”, “one settler one bullet” and promote xenophobia and other form of hate, after 2008, when 62 died.
· There is no proper legislature to deal with hate speech
And we were surprised that criminals would once again dare to loot foreign owed shops and even kill foreigners? Who didn’t expect this to happen?
We are a “broken society” indeed.
