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NEWS
Raping "someone you know" is not sexual violence.
Cape Argus (Cape Town)
October 19, 2004
Di Caelers

Young South Africans have admitted to shocking views on sex and violence. In a study published in the latest edition of the British Medical Journal, it was found that raping "someone you know" was not seen as sexual violence, nor was "unwanted touching".

The study found that just less than half the children believed that "girls mean 'yes' when they say 'no' ". More than a quarter said "girls enjoy rape", and a slightly higher figure said you had to have sex with a boyfriend or girlfriend "to show that they love them".

The study found that sexual abuse was breeding frightening misconceptions about sexual violence and the risk of HIV/Aids

More than a quarter said 'girls enjoy rape'

. And it found that many children who had been abused admitted to becoming abusers themselves.

Thirty percent of the children surveyed said they had never talked about sex to anyone, and a similar percentage believed they might be HIV-positive.
The study was based on a national survey of nearly 300 000 children aged between 10 and 19, taken from 5 162 classes in 1 418 South African schools.
The study was funded by the International Development and Research Centre, and UN bodies.
It said the views of South African youth on sexual violence and on the risk of HIV infection and Aids "were compatible with acceptance of sexual coercion, and 'adaptive' attitudes to survival in a violent society".
South Africa's endemic violence was now highly sexualised, and aimed at "the most vulnerable members of society".
HIV infection and Aids had spread widely as a result of unprotected and forced sex.
In respect of rape, or "forced sex", about 11% of boys and 4% of girls claimed to have forced someone else to have sex - and of these children, 66% of the boys and nearly three-quarters of the girls had themselves been forced to have sex. Pointing to an alarming link between sexual violence and the risk of HIV infection, the researchers showed that children who had been sexually abused in the past year were less likely to take an HIV test or tell their families if they were positive.
And they were more likely to believe that sex with a virgin could cure HIV or Aids.
Perhaps more frightening was the finding that youngsters who had been forced to have sex were more likely to say that they would intentionally spread HIV, especially older boys aged 15 to 19 from the rural areas.
South African pupils seemed to have internalised their risk of sexual abuse into misconceptions about sexual violence and HIV/Aids risk. "The apparent expectation of sexual coercion among the youth, and the associated adaptive attitudes, contribute to a culture of sexual violence. "Males and females were affected similarly, showing a reaction to and a reinforcement of their everyday risk of sexual abuse," the study said, calling on those responsible for HIV/Aids education to take into account that youngsters may be changed by their personal experiences and environment, which could affect the efficacy of educational messages.
While one in three children surveyed believed they could be HIV-positive, one in four had not even had sex, indicating ignorance of the mechanism of HIV infection.
"This failure of education comes at an important cost; youth who believed they were HIV-positive had misconceptions about sexual violence, and about the risk of HIV infection, similar to those who had forced someone else to have sex," said the British Medical Journal article. If you want to share pictures, use the calendar, or start a questionnaire visit http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/sexualviolencej To leave the group, email: sexualviolencej-unsubscribe@smartgroups.com