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33% of SA child rapists are teachers
News24.co.za Cape Town - The rape of girls has doubled over the last 10 years and one-third of rapists are school teachers. These shocking facts have emerged from the Medical Research Council's latest survey which also sheds light on the actual extent of sexual violence against girls in South Africa. Another survey shows that the occurrence of rape and attempted rape is nine times higher than what is being reflected in police statistics. This is the first survey that supplies national information on gender-based violence. The incidence of sexual violence in schools is high and will not be tolerated. Sexual relationships between pupils and teachers will lead to dismissals, Bheki Khumalo, spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Kader Asmal, warned on Friday. The MRC research group on women's health wanted to establish how many girls younger than 15 "have been forced or persuaded to have sex against their will", said Dr Rachel Jewkes, research group director. The demographic and health survey was carried out in 1998 among a representative group countrywide of 11 500 women between the ages of 15 and 49 years. The majority of women who answered "yes", had been raped between the ages of 10 and 14 years. In the majority of cases (33%), school teachers were the rapists, followed by relatives (25%), strangers (20%) and family friends (11%). A confirmation survey indicated that two percent of women in Mpumalanga, the Northern Province and the Eastern Cape had said in 1997 that teachers threatened to fail them if they did not have sex with them. The MRC survey found 2 070 incidents of rape and attempted rape per 100 000 women compared to the police statistics of 244 incidents per 100 000 women. Police statistics create the impression that the incidence of rape is not so serious, said Jewkes. The demographic and health survey indicates that the number of women under 15 years who have been raped has increased sharply over the last 10 years. The demographic and health survey will again be carried out in 2003 to determine the occurrence of child rapes. Khumalo confirmed that some teachers failed girls who did not want to have sex with them. "It is a serious misuse of power. The minister views this as a case where teachers are destroying the innocence of children and we will quickly do something about it." © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnIlda Jacobs Washington D.C. - Dit is amper soos 'n flou Kaapse winter, die aanbreek van "fall" hier in Washington. Die lug is grou, so 'n irriterende misreën wissel die warmer dae af, en wanneer jy dit die minste verwag, byt die koue jou. Jy weet nie mooi hoe jy dit het nie. Dit is steeds warm en bedompig in die metros, en warm in die verhitte huise. Jy trek aan, trek uit, op 'n gereelde basis. Miskien is dit die rede vir my skielike nier probleem, die skizofreniese weer. Die afgelope paar dae loop ek rond met 'n seer regternier en al die ander tipiese kenmerke van 'n ongemaklike infeksie. Dis in en uit in die koue en warmte en jou lyf moet net aanpas. Die Amerikaanse aptekers is boonop onbehulpsaam - wat is dit in elk geval met Amerikaanse apteke, waar het jy nou al gehoor dat sigarette en groceries in 'n apteek verkoop word? Ek het ook nie besef hoe goed ons grootgemaak is op Enos, Citrus Soda, Voltarin, Disprin en dies meer nie. As jy siek is, kan jy jouself in SA dokter want jy ken die medisyne by naam. Jy ken ook die boererate. Hier loop ek van rak na rak met 'n verdwaalde uitdrukking, die keuses is te veel, en die aptekers is besonder ongeduldig. Waar is die dae toe ek na die Disa-Kem in Kuilsrivier, Suid-Afrika, kon gaan waar al die aptekers my by die naam geken het? Nie dat ek gereeld siek was nie, maar die persoonlike verhouding tussen kliënt en apteker was 'n prioriteit. Die apteker sou vra, hoe voel jy, wat is jou simptome, en jou na 'n dokter verwys as indien hy dink dit is nodig. Hier is ek net sowel onsigbaar in die apteek, en vra ek vir raad word 'n onhoorbare handelsnaam in 'n ongeduldige bizarre aksent afgerammel. En ek bly siek. My huismaats is oortuig die rede vir my skete is my slegte dieet. Hulle beweer ek besef nog nie dat al die heerlike restaurantkos, "take-outs" en mikrogolf-twee- minute- specials, vol preserveermiddels is nie. Jy weet nie wat jy eet as nie, sê my huismaats. Pasop vir Amerikaanse kos, preserveer middels is die rede vir jou nier. So nou eet ek wortels om gesond te word en drink bottelwater, want hier in Washington drink die nouveau- yuppie working professionals mos nie kraan water nie.. So met die siekte en die aanbreek van "fall", lyk dinge maar valerig vir my. Jy soek mos jou ma en jou mense as jy oes voel. Ek wil net voel ek behoort. Ek voel meer vreemd as gewoonlik, veral as ek so 'n tipiese bebaarde jong amerikaner met 'n slap maag en 'n drankasem in 'n kafeetjie sien wat 'n giant soda en en french fries bestel. Dan dink ek, ek sal nooit inpas in die red skins set-up nie. Dankie vir D.C., die stad is ten minste kosmopolitaans, en as jy vreemd voel is daar honderde ander vreemdes. Ek begin nou al selfs tussen die kulture in verskillende U.S. stede onderskei. 'n Mens kan nie veralgemeen en oor "amerikaners" skryf nie, want in elke stad groei sy eie soorte en kulture. Na 'n nawekie in New York, kon ek die verskil agterkom tussen Washington en New York. Miskien omdat albei kosmopolitaanse stede is, het ek nie daardie snaakse gevoel van totale kultuurskok ervaar nie. Met tye was alles oorweldigend groot en vreemd, maar nooit het ek gevoel dat ek nie behoort nie - jy behoort juis omdat niemand regtig aan Washington of New York behoort nie. Maar as jy in die Virginia suburbs bly, behoooort jy. Ek sweer ek kan meeste Virginia originals op 'n afstand uitken. Een of ander tyd hierdie week, nooi 'n basketball speler my uit na 'n kroegie in die hartjie van die Virginia-suburbs van Washington. Ek het al gehoor Virginia is meer konserwatief as die Maryland suburbs van Washington. In die distrik D.C. self is die meeste jong mense geweldig ambisieus en trendy, en onafhanklik. Ek weet nie mooi van Virginia se suburbs nie. Die strate is stiller as in Washington D.C., en die kroeg waar ons heen is: so 'n tipiese dodgy joint met daardie gekleurde sitplekke, pooltafels en kaasburger-specials wat jy in die kroeg/eetplekke in Amerikaanse movies sien met die "vreemde" tipe mense .. My Virginia ervaring was presies soos 'n Amerikaanse movie, jy verwag enige oomblik die jeug wat rebelleer teen hulle konserwatiewe ouers, gaan almal met hulle trokke opdaag by die local pub en woeste bakleierye begin. Daai gevoel van die "Boys don't cry" movie. Ek moenie veralgemeen nie, maar ek is seker dit was 'n taste of the south: Konserwatiewe ouers en rebelle vir kinders. Ek vermoed ek trap nou op tone.. Maryland is 'n demokratiese staat, Virginia is republikeins - het dit enigiets met enigiets te make? Ek kon dit nog nie uitwerk nie. Ek weet net ek het besonder ontuis gevoel. Seker soos 'n Engelsman in 'n klein Afrikaanse dorpie. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] 'Roo hearts used in open heart surgery? Thanks to Boerewors Express Dr. Leon Neethling, an associate professor at the University of the Orange Free State, is leading the way in a research initiative which could see kangaroo heart valves used as replacement valves in open-heart surgery within five years. Working at Fremantle Hospital in Western Australia, Neethling has successfully implanted 10 kangaroo heart valves in sheep. At present, pig valves are routinely used in heart valve replacement surgery. Pig valves, however, calcify - they become brittle, tear and fall apart - within three to five years. The research still has to determine the lifespan of the kangaroo valve, but the thinking so far is that it calcifies 80% less than the pig valve, and thus lasts longer. The kangaroo valve is also leaner. Neethling recently presented his work at the World Conference on Heart Valve Disease in London. He began his work on the “K-valve” in 1996 when he was offered a senior research fellowship from the Cardio-Thoracic Unit of the Royal Perth Hospital. He hopes to finish experimental trials within the next three years before starting clinical trials on humans. Visit Boerewors Express for info about their Newsletter. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Cape kid stars in Aussie League Thanks to Boerewors Express Brisbane - Eighteen-year-old Damian Cupido, who left the Cape Flats with his family as a six-year-old in 1988, was the star at a pre-draft training camp in Brisbane earlier this year and was drafted by the Brisbane Lions. Thirteen Australian Rules Football League (AFL) clubs made approaches. His father, Garth, said that when the family arrived in Melbourne, cricket and Aussie Rules were the only sports worth playing. Damian took part in athletics and soccer in Cape Town. He started playing cricket and Aussie Rules, in between some soccer and rugby. He represented Victoria at under-17 level in Australia’s equivalent of the Nuffield Week and played for the Australian under-18 AFL. Eventually, Damien had to make a decision about which sport to concentrate on. He wanted to stay in Melbourne, so footy won. He’ll be moving to Brisbane after completing his final year of high school. Garth moved his family to Australia after the family drove into an ambush and got caught in cross fire during one of SA’s state of emergencies. Although no one was hit, Garth decided to look for a new start for his family. He now teaches psychology and social science at a high school in Melbourne. Visit Boerewors Express for info about their Newsletter. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Pagad leader charged Cape Town - The leader of the South African Muslim vigilante group Pagad has been charged with terrorism for allegedly orchestrating bombings in Cape Town, a state prosecutor said Friday. Willie Viljoen told AFP the charge brought against Abdus-Salaam Ebrahim in the Cape Town Regional Court on Thursday related to a spate of bombings in outlying areas of the city in 1997 and 1998. It marks the first time a known member of the high command of the People Against Gangsterism and Drugs has been charged in relation to bombings since the government in August branded the movement a terrorist threat and blamed it for a wave of blasts in Cape Town. People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) would continue to pursue its goals even if it was to be banned under the government's proposed anti-terrorism legislation, Cassiem Parker, the organisation's legal co-ordinator said Saturday. Addressing several hundred supporters at a public meeting in Lavender Hill, Cape Town, he said he did not know if Pagad would ever have another meeting in its present form, and that there was a "real seriousness" about the situation the organisation was in. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Calls for mass action to oust Mugabe HARARE: Zimbabwe's leading opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change celebrated its first anniversary today with calls for mass action to force President Robert Mugabe out of power. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai told about 20-thousand supporters at a rally that the country could not wait for presidential elections in 2002, because Mugabe will rig the polls. Tsvangirai says the time has come for decisive action to oust Mugabe whom he accused of destroying Zimbabwe. He urged Mugabe to go peacefully, warning that if he did not do so, he would be removed violently. He told reporters afterwards his reference to violence related to mass action. Thanks to http://www.channelafrica.org/currenta.shtml [ Top ] |
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