Police negligence caused a child rapist to be released on free bail
A rape survivor who manages to summon the courage to report the crime has a less than one in 10 chance of seeing their rapist convicted, says a new unreleased study from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
As part of the study, the SAMRC tracked nearly 4000 rape cases opened at almost 200 police stations nationwide. The research has revealed not only shocking low conviction rates and administrative bungling but also some of the surprising factors that fuel this.
South Africa doesn’t have national rape statistics but studies in parts of the country show that between 28% and 37% of surveyed men admitted to having raped a woman.
In an exclusive story online tomorrow and in the Mail & Guardian newspaper, we look at the anatomy of a rape investigation.
Meanwhile, it took some rape cases reviewed as part of the study two years to get to court but that’s just half the battle. Take a look at what happens when a rape case actually makes it to trial.
