Rape culture pervasive

Students at various institutions of higher learning are often involved in different struggles as they endeavour to acquire qualifications. 

Most recently a struggle against a rape culture has surfaced, about which I cannot keep quiet. As a student activist who identifies with the struggles of the working class and poor, I am disappointed rape is so rife at many of our universities. This is yet another indication that more needs to be done to transform the mindset and totally defeat patriarchy in society.

Rape is a manifestation of several factors, but I believe patriarchy is the major culprit in gender-related challenges.

Emilie Buchwald argued that when society normalises sexualised violence, it accepts and creates a rape culture – which she defined as a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and endorse violence against women. It is one where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent.

In such a context, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from harassment, to sexual remarks to sexual touching, to rape.

A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as a norm and this has happened in institutions of higher learning over the years.

In a rape culture, both men and women assume sexual violence is a fact of life, something that is inevitable. But to me this should not be the case because there is nothing that cannot be changed.

It is however important to take a closer look at what characterises a patriarchal society. Gerda Lerner defined patriarchy as “the manifestation and institutionalisation of male dominance over women and children in the family and the extension of male dominance over women in the society in general”.

Patriarchy therefore assumes men should hold power in all society’s important institutions including the church and universities and that women should be deprived of access to such power.

These dynamics are evident in almost all spheres of life. Women’s under-representation in key state institutions and decision-making positions in employment and industry is clear to see.

The reality is our society is characterised by current and historic unequal power relations, ones in which women are systematically disadvantaged and oppressed to the extent of being raped.

The following examples show the extent to which rape in trending in our institutions of higher learning:

In January 29 last year, Stellenbosch University instituted a task team to investigate gender violence in response to cases of rape;

In March last year, a female student was gang-raped at the University of Zululand. Other cases of rape were previously reported at Mangosuthu University;

Students at the University of Cape Town started a campaign against sexual violence and a rape culture after incidents were reported inside and near the campus. They continue to speak out against a rape culture on their campus;

In April this year, Rhodes University students exposed a list of 11 alleged culprits and bared their breasts in a protest against rape on campus;

In May the centenary celebrating University of Fort Hare hosted the minister of social justice at an event where many female students spoke openly about experiencing sexual violence on campus.

Many cases of students raped at social events or by intruders who gain access to their residences are not reported. Unfortunately in society where male sexual violence is normalised it is the victims who are often blamed.

Women fear this and the attitude which many encounter that says males are meant to dominate and attempts are made to justify abuse of females.

The medical research council report of 2008 showed only one in nine women who experience rape in South Africa report their cases to the police.

Worse news is that the conviction rate is 6.2%. This means few rapists end up being found guilty.

A rape adjudication and prosecution study in South Africa reported recently that people were not reporting cases of sexual violence. This means any drop in official rape statistics may not be an accurate reflection of reality.

Some students who interacted with the South African Students Union recently reviewed the issue of incidents where people might be drunk, or those involving couples in a relationship or ex-girlfriends etcetera. The consensus was that whatever the scenario, whenever penetration occurs without consent, that is rape and it is to be condemned.

I gave Wits University students a standing ovation when they took to the streets to pledge solidarity with Rhodes students’ campaign against a rape culture. This I did because the suffering and pain of those who suffer rape is unbearable. They suffer psychological trauma and are at risk of HIV/Aids infection.

When society blames the victim, not the rapist, the victim’s self-esteem is compromised and so they lose their sense of belonging among their peers.

Unwanted pregnancies can even result and lead to unplanned abortions which can put rape victims’ lives at risk. Victims have even committed suicide.

Even more shocking is when a lecturer uses his masculinity to abuse or rape a student, promising her marks to keep her quiet. How is that student supposed to face that staff member?

These are some of the far-reaching aspects of a patriarchal society. A rape culture and patriarchy are dangerous twins and present problems that devastate societies and institutions to the highest levels.

What needs to be done? I am convinced this problem is not insurmountable. The following are some of my proposed interventions:

I challenge universities to move away from their comfort zones and shape their policies on sexual harassment to protect victims. This will mean strengthened internal disciplinary processes and strong punishment for the perpetrators of rape. Many times, institutions of higher learning are more worried about protecting their reputations than protecting human dignity. Some, when cases of rape are reported, will try by all means to brush the matter under the carpet. This is very wrong;

Universities and colleges must tighten internal security systems and campus controls so students feel safe;

Then there is the liberation of the mind. The ideas in our heads affect the way we behave hence I propose serious ideological debates and education for both men and women to change wrong mindsets and create a consciousness of what is wrong and right. Institutions of higher learning also have a mandate to execute to prepare people for the future through teaching, learning and research but this cannot happen when campuses still experience rape culture;

Law enforcement agencies must take every case seriously and work with community policing forums to apprehend rapists. A rape culture doesn’t command men to rape, but it does make rape inviting, and it reduces the likelihood rapists will be identified, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and punished. These rapists are cruel, they can destroy someone’s life in a few minutes and they deserve to rot in jail, but this can only happen when police improve their efficiency and are prompt in response.

I also agree with the view that says institutions of higher learning are a microcosm of society and so a rape culture must be treated as a societal matter which demands solutions both from within and outside.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

We cannot keep quiet about injustice in the form of the rape culture. If we do we will choose the side of the rapists.

Misheck T Mugabe is the former SRC president of Walter Sisulu University and currently treasurer general of the South African Union of Students