/ 7 January 1999

ONE THIRD OF TEEN GIRLS ABUSED

ONE in three South African teenage girls are victims of sexual abuse, according to a study published on Thursday by the Community Information Empowerment and Transparency organisation. Of the victims, two out of three had never previously spoken of the abuse, the study of 1500 teenagers between 14 and 18 and from a cross-section of Johannesburg found. Among the boys surveyed, 12% admitted to having had sex with a girl without her consent. Half of the boys interviewed said that when a girl says “no” she usually means “yes”. A third of the boys thought that girls who were abused “were looking for it”.