Murder and, increasingly, drug trafficking hog the limelight in discussions of crime. But in response to our reporting of rapes in the Grants Pen area, Hillary Nicholson of Women's Media Watch has written to bring to attention the continued savage exploitation of women and girls through rape in many inner-city communities.
The vast majority of these crimes are never reported to the police or perpetrators brought to justice because of the terror factor. In fact, the Grants Pen rapes, which led to the gruesome murder of a 15-year-old victim, are clearly acts of terrorism.
Ms Nicholson speaks of the ongoing horror of men demanding sex, raping and threatening families if the families do not give up girls they demand. The gun becomes a tool of sexual conquest. Sometime ago a story was carried of a young girl whose own brother gave her up to his friends to be gang-raped. The sexual behaviour surveys have been consistently reporting the forced early sexual initiation of girls not only in inner-city communities but all over the country. The implications for human rights, social well-being, health and even the economy are obvious.
Orlando Patterson in his 40th anniversary of Independence lecture identified sexual predation on women as one of the continuing cultural shackles from slavery. As Women's Media Watch is finding in their inner-city work, men, and even many of the female victims themselves do not see forced sex as rape and a crime. Sexual conquest, often achieved through force and violence, is one of the principal marks of masculinity among men with little other source of power.
Be that as it may, in this election season, when every possible promise is made and counter-made, those who would form the next Government must be forcefully reminded that the state authority is obliged to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens and particularly the rights of the more vulnerable. Sexual violence against women, as Ms Nicholson has pointed out, is endemic.
The concern over murder and drug trafficking, as serious as these are, is having the perverse effect of sidelining action against other criminal activity which are gnawing at the innards of the society. Indeed it has been well established, that attention to what have been called "quality of life" crimes has the effect of lowering the rates of serious crimes. Rape itself is a serious offence involving violence against the person and the violation of the most fundamental right of self-ownership. We cannot continue to ignore its endemic presence while hoping to build a secure and peaceful society respectful of human rights.
