It is commonly accepted that South Africa is one of the countries with the highest incidence of rape in the world. Over the past two decades, South Africa has been labelled the rape capital of the world on numerous occasions.4 This claim is contentious for various reasons, most of which are outlined by the fact-checking organisation Africa Check.5 It rightfully points out that 1) the different definitions of rape, 2) the way in which data is collected and 3) the underreporting of rape make data unreliable. This makes it difficult to come to an accurate conclusion about this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the frequency of the claim and the fact that South Africa consistently appears in almost every top-10 ranking in terms of rape per capita point to a major crisis in the country – a crisis that has been around for a long time. Read more…
