Wailing women

Survey finds 1 in 3 South African men admitting to rape.

South Africa may have got its freedom from the much-revilled apartheid system,but for its women,violence,rapes,slavery and drudgery are still part of every day life.

In a recent survey,more than one in three South African men admitted to rape.

The finding is the latest evidence in the country of a violent culture of patriarchy,reports the Guardian.

In the survey,more than three in four men said they had perpetrated violence against women.

Nearly nine in 10 men believe that a woman should obey her husband and almost six in 10 women also agreed with the statement.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape in the world. Last year a survey by the Medical Research Council MRC found that 28pc of men in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces said they had raped a woman or girl.

A new MRC study in Gauteng,the country8221;s wealthiest province,found that 37.4pc of men admitted having committed a rape,while 25.3pc of women said they had been raped.

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The survey questioned 511 women and 487 men,of whom 90pc were black and 10pc white.

8220;We see a situation where the use of violence is so widespread that not only is it seen as being legitimate but I think quite often women forget it. They just see it as a normal effect,8221; Rachel Jewkes of the MRC said.

Some 53.9pc of men and 29.8pc of women agreed that 8220;a man should have the final say in all family matters8221;,while 37.3pc of men and 23.2pc of women supported the view that 8220;a woman needs her husband8221;s permission to do paid work8221;.

Asked about sexual entitlement in marriage,only 55pc of both men and women said they thought 8220;it is possible for a woman to be raped by her husband8221;.

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Some 38.7pc of men and 29.3pc of women thought that 8220;a woman cannot refuse to have sex with her husband8221; and 22.3pc of men and 8.8pc of women felt that 8220;if a wife does something wrong,her husband has the right to punish her8221;.

The survey also found that 32pc of men and women agreed that 8220;in any rape case,one would have to question whether the victim is promiscuous8221;,while 20.1pc of men and 15.6pc of women said that 8220;in some rape cases,women want it to happen8221;.

8220;What we see here is a set of attitudes reflecting men8221;s views that they are legitimate in the use of violence against women,and women in many respects acquiescing to this,8221; Jewkes said.