One in four women living in a key platinum mining area in South Africa has been raped in her lifetime, a survey by medical charity MSF has said.
About half of women in Rustenburg had been subject to sexual violence or intimate partner violence, it said.
The charity said the findings of its survey were “shocking but not uncommon” in South Africa.
South Africa has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world and a low prosecution rate.
Based on its survey of more than 800 women aged 18-49 in Rustenburg municipality, north-west of Johannesburg, MSF said only 5% of the approximately 11,000 women and girls raped each year reported the incident to a health worker.
Stigma
The research also suggested that a very low number of these women were aware of how to prevent HIV transmission and even pregnancy.
MSF said survivors of sexual violence faced numerous other barriers to seeking care.
“Stigma within communities is high and options are few for accessing well-resourced, dedicated sexual violence health services,” it said.
Despite lying at the centre of South Africa’s platinum belt, Rustenburg is home to many poor communities.
The area attracts both men hoping to work in the mines and women from across South Africa and abroad who hope to benefit from the local mining economy.
MSF said unemployment was particularly high for migrant women “creating conditions that promote dependency on men who are more readily employed by mines in the area”.
Marikana anniversary
The charity said there was a need to increase the number of staff trained in sexual healthcare in the area.
The BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says the authorities hope ongoing awareness campaigns will encourage rape victims to seek medical attention and even legal recourse.
The survey was published on the fourth anniversary of the shooting by police of striking workers at the Marikana mine in the Rustenburg municipality.
Thirty-four people died in what was the worst violence in South Africa since the end of apartheid 20 years earlier. The incident led to intense scrutiny over the roles of the police, mining companies, unions and the government.
Analysis:
I believe this to be a tragedy. The fact that so many women in just one community have been victim to something so horrible is appalling. Hearing about these stories gives you the perspective of what real oppression is. After hearing stories of he said she said of campus alcohol filled rape cases with huge up roar I always end up thinking back to stories like this that make most other rape cases fail in comparison. I wish feminists would put more of their time and effort towards helping woman in the hundreds being raped instead of putting all there soul on small outlier cases from frat party’s. I am sure this is also not the only place this is happening in too. The fact that only a small percentage reported them to the authorities must mean this is more socially acceptable. Further proving this is a popular occurrence. My question is why haven’t there been huge support from something as heinous as this. Places like this is where feminism is really in need. To add to the turmoil of these woman they are also be transmitted HIV. A disease that can be deadly at times is running rampant through this community. Unfortunately there is very little the UN can do about this being it is as common as it is. I believe the best way to help these women overcome what they are going through is to teach them they are better then the way they are bing treated. To also share with them the knowledge there is a better life being treated so horribly and that they are even meant for a better life.