RAPE AND SEXUAL

A S S A U LT
Unit 3.4
FOCUS AREAS

Sexual Offences • Sexual Assault

• Rape:
• Statutory Rape
• Serial Rape
• Compelled rape
• Acquaintance rape
• Date rape

• Typology of Rapists and their characteristics

• Rape Myths
• The Influence of Pornography
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS
1. Explain the difference between sexual assault and rape
2. Provide a detailed explanation of the elements for sexual assault and rape

3. Discuss the elements of statutory rape within South Africa

4. Name the characteristics of a serial rapist
5. Specify typology for rapists

6. List the characteristics of a rapist

7. Elaborate on the existing rape myths within a South African context
8. Examine how pornography may influence rape
SEXUAL OFFENCES
 S E X UA L A S S A U LT ( A L S O K N O W N A S I N D E C E N T A S S A U LT )
• Definition: An act of physical, psychological and emotional violation in the form of a sexual act, inflicted
on someone without their consent. It can involve forcing or manipulating someone to witness or
participate in any sexual acts .
• The following elements need to present in order for it to constitute as sexual assault:

Sexual Violation
• Sexual assault deals with contact between two or more people, not penetration

The violation can include a direct or indirect act such as:

• -The mouth, hand or foot of one person touching another person's genital organs, mouth or other body part in a sexual or stimulating manner
-Any object used by one person to directly or indirectly touch/make contact with another person's genital organs, mouth or any other body part
in a sexual manner

Absence of consent
• The violation must take place without consent of the victim
A voluntary, uncoerced agreement is considered as consent, which can be withdrawn at any time

Unlawfulness
• When it comes to sexual assault, this touch or action is considered harmful and thus unlawful (this includes any relationship that existed prior
to the violation)
 RAPE
• Definition: The unlawful and intentional sexual penetration of the vagina or anus with any
body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the
consent of the victim.
• The following elements need to present in order for it to constitute as rape:

Sexual penetration
• Includes any penetration of the slightest degree

Absence of consent
• The penetration needs to take place without the consent of the victim which can take place through
threats of force, intimidation, violence, through the abuse of power or committed frequently
Unlawfulness
• This touch or action is considered harmful and thus unlawful (this includes any relationship that
existed prior to the violation)
Intention
• The perpetrator must know that the victim had not consented to the penetration
E X T E N T O F S E X UA L A S S AU LT A N D R A P E I N S O U T H A F R I CA

According to the National Crime Statistics 2018/2019, sexual

assaults increased by 9,6% from 2017/2018.

There were 6786 sexual offences officially reported in

2017/2018, which increased to 7437 in 2018/2019.

According to the National Crime Statistics 2018/2019, rape increased by

3.9% from 2017/2018

There were 40 035 rapes reported in 2017/2018, which increased by

1548 in 2018/2019 totalling to 41 583 rapes that were reported that year.
SUBTYPES OF RAPE

Statutory Serial
Rape Rape
S TAT U TO R Y R A P E
• Definition: Sexual intercourse with a person under a specified age with their consent, without the use of
physical violence and regardless of the child's disclosure of true age.

• According to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007, sexual acts
between an adult and children under the age of 16 years old is a crime.

• It is still considered statutory rape even though the child consented to the act.

• The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 provides guidance as to
acceptable sexual activity in children, above that it attempts to monitor the exploitation of children.

• On the 15th of January 2013, Judge P. Rabie ruled that the above law was for revised for teenage
relationships. Children between the ages of 12 and 16 who engage in consented sexual penetration will not be
prosecuted.
S TAT U TO R Y R A P E

Between the ages of 16 and 18 years old:

• In some cases, it would be considered as ‘statutory rape’ if the parents are willing to go
through the criminal procedure by opening a case and if the court can determine that the
child did not possess the mental capacity to be considered “emancipated” or of a mental
state to make decisions like an 18-year -old adult.
• Mental capacity is usually the more difficult one to prove, as many children do show some
mental level of ‘maturity’ as early

An individual who is older than 18 who has sex with a child between the
ages of 12 and 16 (who consents to it) is guilty of statutory rape

If the individuals are aged between 12 and 16 years old and have
consensual sex, then they will not be persecuted.
 • ANC ward councillor arrested
in connection with statutory
rape after explicit video
surfaces online
• https://www.news24.com/ne
ws24/southafrica/news/anc-
ward-councillor-arrested-in-
connection-with-statutory-
rape-after-explicit-video-
surfaces-online-20230507
• Mpumalanga man charged
with statutory rape of
S TAT U TO R Y R A P E teenage girl
• https://www.timeslive.co.za/n
CASES AND ews/south-africa/2023-12-

EXAMPLES 27-mpumalanga-man-
charged-with-statutory-rape-
of-teenage-girl/
SERIAL RAPE
• Definition: A person who has engaged in sexual contact with two or more victims, without their consent, in a minimum of two
separate incidents (De Wet, Potgieter, Labuschagne, 2019:36)

• According to Professor Gerard Labuschagne (2012:564), who is the former head of the Investigative Psychology Unit at
SAPS, there are approximately 100+ serial rapists active in Gauteng at any given moment

• De Wet et al. (2019:37) discusses the average characteristics of a serial rapist:

• The typical age of serial rapists fluctuate between 22-35 years of age
• Have a primary school qualification
• Has no stable income and often performs menial labour (referred to as “piece jobs”)

• Serial rape consists of distinctive motivations and methods of committing the crime as they are cunning and meticulous at
evading law enforcement

• Most serial rapists often commit other crimes alongside serial rape and often have an existing criminal record (Woodhams &
Labuschagne, 2012:544)
 • Jack Mogale (West-end serial killer) (2008-
2009)
SERIAL RAPIST • 44 year old Mogale committed his crimes near
EXAMPLES his residence in Westonaria and Lenasia, in
Johannesburg near the West end brick factory
• He was found guilty of 9 kidnappings, 19 rapes
and 16 murders
• He lured women to open fields and proceeded
to rape and murder them
• Two women who survived being attacked by
him testified at trial that he had claimed to be a
Zion Christian Church (ZCC) preacher and a
prophet
SERIAL KILLERS VS. SERIAL KILLERS AND RAPISTS
• There are multiple varying factors between serial rapists, serial killers and offenders who commit both crimes
simultaneously

• A host of factors ranging from, among others:

• modus operandi
• criminal background of the offender
• The use of fantasy
• Psychiatric illness
• The role of sadism in the commission of the crime

• Serial killers who are also serial rapists are less likely to have been involved in a relationship at the time of their offence,
generally attacked specific victims who fit their favoured characteristics, and had higher self-esteem.

• They were found to have more violent previous convictions and scored higher on measures of historical deviance, paranoid
suspicion, and resentment than offenders who were mainly serial killers
COMPELLED RAPE
• The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32
of 2007 defines compelled rape as any person who compels a third party
person/s to commit an act of sexual penetration without consent

• Two ways in which compelled rape might occur:

Be forced at gunpoint
(for example, when an
Form of initiation intruder forces the
within a gang context resident to rape
his/her spouse or
family member).
COMPELLED RAPE

In some instances, gang rape is committed by street

gangs as rape motivated by initiation practices,
which can be categorised as compelled rape

In some gangs, girls are prostituting themselves to

have sexual relationships within a gang in exchange
for safety and access to drugs
A C Q UA I N TA N C E R A P E
• When this rape occurs, the victim knows the offender
• The offender is often a family member or friend.
•
• Definition: The unlawful and intentional sexual penetration of the vagina or anus with any
body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person by an acquainted
person, without the consent of the victim.

• This rape is most likely to occur under the influence of alcohol, drugs and/or sedatives which
could encourage the victim to not report the crime
• After the rape has occurred, the victim often experiences feelings of embarrassment and
shame and is often hesitant to report the rape due to knowing the offender
D AT E R A P E

Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating

violence.

The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but

date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there
has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual
relationship between the two parties.
GROTH AND BIRNBAUM’S TYPOLOGY OF RAPISTS
According to Groth and Birnbaum in Bezuidenhout (2011:232) there are three typologies that
encapsulate the motivation of a rapist:

1. The Power Rapist: This type of rapist doubts their masculinity or femininity. The act of rape shows
supremacy over the victim to prove that the perpetrator is in control. There is minimal amounts of force
used to subdue the victim and the perpetrator aims at having the victim at their mercy by using violence or
the threat thereof. Victims are often held over a period of time and are raped repeatedly.

2. The Anger Rapist: This rapist harbours intense feelings of hostility towards their victims or victim pool
(people who could potentially become a victim). The violent and sexual acts are often physically brutal in
which the perpetrators long-term repressed emotions of resentment are vented. The attack occurs
suddenly and without warning that often following a trigger. This rapist's objective is to inflict as much hurt
possible to the victim as well as degrade and humiliate the victim

3. The Sadistic Rapist: With this type of rapist, anger and control over the victim becomes eroticised. The
rapist's sexual satisfaction comes from tormenting, humiliating and sadistically abusing their victim. In
most cases, it can be argued that these rapists are mentally ill and their victims represent someone in their
minds who have previously caused them harm. The intention of this rapist is to harm the victim severely
which is often followed by murder.
RAPE OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS: WHO RAPES?
• According to Bartol and Bartol (2014:444) the behaviour of a rapist is influenced by
multiple, interactive factors such as:
• Past learning experiences
• Cognitive expectations
• Beliefs
• Conditioning
• Environmental factors
• Reinforcement contingencies (both positive and negative punishments)
• These factors can be considered as the causes of why the rapist committed the crime

• Not all sex offenders are alike

 RAPE OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS: WHO RAPES?
• Sexual socialisation and social learning play a crucial role in the rapists' perceptions of what rape
accomplishes for them.

• Sexual socialisation (or learning about sex) is rarely acquired through home or school and that much
of it comes from peers, friends, entertainment media and experimentation

• Most individuals, not just potential perpetrators and convicted sexual offenders, are fed
misconceptions, taboos, and strategies for dealing with the opposite sex

• For example, males learn that it is “manly” to take sexual initiative, and in some cases, to continue to
persist even if they are met with resistance
 RAPE OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS: WHO RAPES?
• Most sexual offences studies are conducted on male offenders and a large portion if not the
whole portion of most statistics on rape are male perpetrators.

• The average demographics of rapists are males between the ages of of 18-35 years of age .

• Researchers have recently begun to focus of female sex offenders, a subject that was virtually
ignored and highly underreported until recently

• Females are just as likely to engage in behaviours that are just as aggressive as males with similar
factors in their typologies

• Female offender victims are more likely to be peers and/or friends rather than strangers
 RAPE MYTHS
• Rape myths are attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but persistently held
• Most of the rape myths are centred around male aggression towards women and
misogynistic attitudes

Myth 1: There is a false belief that women must be dominated and coerced into sexual activity

Myth 2: Any form of friendly behaviour (verbal or non-verbal) expressed by a women is considered
as seductive

Furthermore, women display assertive behaviour towards unwanted sexual advances they are
considered to be prudes and hostile

Myth 3: Only women are raped, and only men rape. There is existing literature that has looked at
female sexual offenders who target men

Myth 4: Individuals often find it difficult to comprehend that rape occurs in a married relationship
and were reluctant to believe that there is a violation of the wife’s/husbands rights.
 INFLUENCE OF PORNOGRAPHY
• According to Bartol and Bartol (2014:451), there are factors that influence the relationship between
pornography and human aggression:
• 1. the level of arousal elicited by pornography films
• 2. the level of aggression content
• 3. the reactions of the victims/actors portrayed in these films and photographs

• Due to the scenes and actions depicted in pornographic films and photographs, pornographic stimuli may
promote aggression under certain circumstances

• Portrayals of women being assaulted, even non-sexually can increase aggressive behaviour

• Researchers found that as the level of coercion depicted in pornography rises, so does the acceptance of
rape myths
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NWfys7q4x4
I M P O R TA N T R E S O U R C E S

• https://rapecrisis.org.za/get-help/
• https://rapecrisis.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Know-Your-Rights-TCC-
WEBWHATSAPP.pdf

• Rape crisis call 021 447 9762

• National counselling 0861322322
• Kovsie counselling 0514012853/ [email protected]
• Student careline 0800 00 6363