Baby rape in South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa the rape of infants and toddlers occurs at allow but consistent level. Attempts to explain the rape of infants and toddlers include the socialization influences of men of the country's violent apartheid past, as well as virgin cleansing myths which have arisen in the context of the country's rampant HIV/AIDS epidemic. Added to this is an uneven child rights environment and a poorly functioning police and justice system. Even under the concerted influence of environmental pressures the rape of an infant or toddler is an extremely brutal act which requires both psychological and social explanation.