Somehow victim of rape blamed

RAPE is not a crime that hurts someone for a moment but shatters their entire life. This means that most victims never fully recover from being a victim of such a devastating act.

The attitudes we possess and the behaviour we exemplify create an atmosphere that tolerates and downplays rape.

One prominent example concerns blaming the victim. We tend to focus on what the victim was wearing, drinking or doing and this shifts the focus away from the perpetrator. This implies that individuals should censor themselves to avoid being assaulted, that somehow the victim is responsible.

Several victims cannot cope with rape and resort to suicide as an escape from the shame and pain that they feel. Most rape cases are not reported because often it is more damaging to go to court as the victim than it is for the offender.

Police officers should take immediate and proper action when rape cases are reported.

The government should change the legal process of dealing with such crimes and our attitude should change.

Our daughters are endangered and instead of the perpetrators being jailed for life, we blame women generally.

So, for me, it should be life imprisonment. Anything else falls short.

If we come together as one nation, we can stop this epidemic. Durban