TheJournal.ie uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click here to find out more »
Dublin: 6 °C Friday 24 May, 2013

Rape and subsequent death of teen sparks outrage in South Africa

Girl, 17, found disembowelled at a construction site and died later in hospital – the crime has been criticised by President Jacob Zuma.

Image: iadams via Shutterstock

THE RAPE AND gruesome mutilation of a teenage girl in South Africa has sparked a rare outburst of anger in a country that often appears numb to sexual violence.

Anine Booysen, 17, was found disembowelled at a construction site in the southwestern town of Bredasdorp at the weekend and later died in hospital.

She reportedly lured away from her friends by a group of men and it suspected she was gang-raped, but police said today that they were still investigating.

The case has shocked the nation where tales of sexual violence are commonplace.

“The whole nation is outraged at this extreme violation and destruction of a young human life,” President Jacob Zuma said in a statement today.

This act is shocking, cruel and most inhumane. It has no place in our country. We must never allow ourselves to get used to these acts of base criminality to our women and children.

Official statistics show that around 65,000 sexual offences were committed in South Africa last year alone.

But police estimate that only one in 36 rape cases get reported.

The Cape Argus newspaper cited a witness saying that the teenager’s body was cut open from her stomach through to her genital area, and exposed her internal organs.

Two suspects have been arrested and one of them appeared in court this week on murder and rape charges.

Studies have found that more than one quarter of South African men admitted to raping a woman or girl.

Government spokeswoman Pumza Williams said the “frequent occurrence of these brutal acts is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This has to stop.”

An “appalled and disgusted” Congress of South African Trade unions (COSATU), the main labour movement, has called for protests against rape following the incident.

“When a very similar incident occurred in India recently, there was a massive outbreak of protest and mass demonstrations in the streets,” COSATU spokesman Patrick Craven said yesterday, referring to the December gang rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi that shocked the world.

- © AFP, 2013

Read next:

Comments (39 Comments)

  • Oh my god, there are no words. That poor girl. I can only hope crimes like this start to have a dramatic decline in occurrences.

    Reply
  • Sick Bastards……..

    Reply
  • No words can describe how sickening this is and what that girl must have gone through. May she RIP.

    Reply
  • The 17-year-old was found by security guards at a construction site in Bredasdorp at the weekend. She had been gang-raped and mutilated, and later died of her injuries in hospital.

    Booysen identified one of her attackers before she died in hospital.

    Booysen’s 22-year-old ex-boyfriend has been arrested in connection with the crime. He appeared in the Bredasdorp Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of rape and murder.

    A second man, aged 21, was arrested in Bredasdorp on Wednesday night.

    Reply
  • Studies have shown that 25% of South African males admit to rape?! That is a shocking statistic.

    Reply
    • According to Rape.co.za, it’s estimated that women born in South Africa have more chance of being raped than learning how to read. The site also quotes a survey that was conducted amongst 1,500 Sowetan school children, in which it was discovered that a quarter of all boys said that “jackrolling” (their lingo for gang rape) was “fun”.
      The devastating stats continue – a quarter of South African men who took part in a survery by the Medical Research Council (MRC) admitted to raping someone, it’s estimated that half a million rapes are commited each year in SA.
      A study by Interpol (the international police agency) shows that South Africa has the highest rate of rape in the world.
      A woman is raped in South Africa every 17 seconds…

      http://www.sa-people.com/2011/03/28/south-african-rape-statistics/

      Reply
    • It’s ot just in South Africa that rape happens I believe 1 of every 4 women/children will endure sexual violence that is a sickening thought. My personal opinon is that every rapist/child molester should get a mandatory death sentence maybe they don’t take a life but they certainly destroy them

      Reply
  • If a quarter of South African men have ADMITTED to rape, what is the real number?

    Reply
  • I read a statistic yesterday that stated eighty per cent of ” stranger rapes ” in London were committed by unlicensed mini cab drivers. Eleven per month on average in London. This really shocked me. Clearly, these sexual predators have identified a gap in regulation and are exploiting it to its full extent. Apologies if I sound off topic, but I’m just trying to illustrate my level of shock. Rape is something that I struggle to begin to understand and always, I fail. However, these creatures who rape and then disembowel their victims afterwards have to classed in a different category altogether. The level of hatred these rapists have against women is something that I will never understand. If caught, I don’t believe that they should ever again see the light of day.

    Reply
    • KEVIN.N 08/02/13 #

      Hatred of women isn’t the main reason for rape. Heterosexuals have raped people of the same sex and homosexuals have raped people of the opposite sex. There’s more to it then just simply hatred of women. It’s just like there are people who get a thrill/enjoyment out of torturing/humiliating/killing other human beings.

      Reply
    • Agreed Kevin, I didn’t mean to imply that it was the main reason. A more general hatred of human beings, whether male or female, is the more likely culprit, by people who are more, or less than human.

      Reply
    • Rape is about exercising power and control over another person, nothing more, and the thrill is derived from that sense of power. All those found guilty of sexual assault regardless of the victims sex or age should be branded and a mandatory minimim sentence of at least 10 years needs to be introduced. I dont care if its “only” for flashing or peeping as thats were it generally starts and progresses from there.

      Reply
  • Hopefully worldwide people will start to stand up to rape. Especially in some countries where is almost accepted that it is a way of life for many unfortunate women.

    Reply
  • The dying girl managed to identify one of her rapists.. It was her ex-boyfriend.

    Read a book called. I HAVE LIFE by Alison Botha.. It will make your hair stand on end.. About a young SA girl who was brutally raped and slashed and left for dead in my old home town.

    Reply
  • Hang em high

    Reply
  • It’s amazing how you never hear anything about South Africa anymore in the news in general. People that are not black in South Africa are facing genocide/reverse racism. That moron Zuma advises if you sleep with someone who has HIV take a shower as the solution, says he used to beat up “fags” and claims making dogs part of the family is “colonial” and stop “trying” to be white.

    Reply
  • bongear 07/02/13 #

    What a warped country. When I was there I was amazed at the amount of black on black violent crimes were been committed, and women and children were the victims.

    Reply
  • Apartheid is alive and well in South Africa. Never reported in the media because the rest of the world don’t want to hear it or believe it.
    People living in horrific environments in Townships where violence, rape , murder and drugs are rife. Townships are the equivalent of human zoos .

    Reply
  • I never want to visit that country where a quater of the men roam around like wild animals.Rip to the poor girl

    Reply
  • In this case it was about the brutal rape, butchering and killing of a young girl.

    The big issue is that this happens all over South Africa on a daily basis on farms, in towns and townships. None of these reaches the outside media and the world do not see the crimes by the hundreds or thousands upon people of all races.

    There is a raping, killing spree that is on the verge of being out of control. Every day people are killed for items worth nothing.

    Reply
  • Bring back the death penalty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. These low life rubbish should rot in hell and not in our prisons. They don’t deserve our respect if they can go around taking the lifes of innocent people.. There is clearly a problem in this country seeing that we know about the rapes and statistics of rapes but it keeps rising and the law keeps the rapest save. We need to do something about this country and the way it keeps the good citizens save….. being the rape capital of the world is nothing do be proud of……

    Reply
  • That’s just brutal,absolute disgusting stuff!!! D poor victim, & wat family must being going through I can’t imagine!!if was me, a very slow death 4 these sickos

    Reply
  • Cape Town – A third man was arrested on Friday for the gang-rape, murder and mutilation of Bredasdorp teenager Anene Booysen, eNCA reported.

    The 23-year-old suspect will appear in court next week with two others for Booysen’s brutal rape and murder.

    Booysen was left for dead at a construction site near her home after visiting a sports bar on Friday night.

    She had reportedly worked as a cleaner for Asla Construction.

    Her aunt Wilma Brooks wept when describing Booysen’s injuries to the Cape Argus.

    “Her throat had been slit, all her fingers and both legs were broken, a broken glass bottle had been lodged in her, her stomach had been cut open… That which was supposed to be inside her body lay strewn across the scene where they found her,” she said.

    Booysen died in hospital on Saturday afternoon.

    (Update from News24)

    Reply
  • dont be the last rat on a sinking ship,leave south africa to its ineviatable horror and misery,nothing will change,and will only get worse,vote with your feet,you do not have to be the willing victim

    Reply
  • I like to know where that study stating more than 25% of SA men “admitted” rape??? Sounds very unlikely…..

    Reply
    • CABK 07/02/13 #

      its not too unlikely if there are no consequences to admitting the rape as is clearly the case in SA.

      Reply
    • KEVIN.N 07/02/13 #

      I think it’s much higher, since there are obviously a lot who will not admit it. I’m surprised that so many people are surprised. This is nothing new. Toddlers and virgins are raped in SA because it is believed to cure HIV, the “Virgin Cleansing Myth”. There was a survey that found 60% of boys/girls felt it was NOT violent to force someone to have sex with them who they knew. It’s always been like this in Africa and the Middle East when it comes to women. There treated like happy meal toys.

      Reply
    • Bouile 08/02/13 #

      probably a lot higher – so many instances of young girls being raped by HIV infected men who believe they will be cured of HIV by having sex with a Virgin! South Africa is very much traditional with a male dominated society (in the main) whereby women are more often than not treated as second class citizens! There education system is a joke where corporal punishment is still rife, class sizes are enormous, and teaching standards are extremely poor – it had lots of potential to be apart of the BRIC(S) countries – it has failed to take full advantage (as have most African countries) of the vast amount of natural resources it has. it’s economy is going downhill as seen by all the recent unrest in the mines, the World Cup which failed to benefit much of the poor etc… not to mention the huge social unrest that is boiling under the surface !

      Reply
  • 25% of men admittng rape?! Oh please thats about as absurd as 1 in 4 women are raped. What is it with all sexual crime statistics fixation on quarters? ? If we had to go by the swedish model then probably all men are rapists and all women have been raped. Why is it that rape is the focal point even when someone dies, surely the death is more important news? 10 men can be found decapitated at a dump site and it makes the back page. One female is found raped and murdered and its international news about violence against women……seems like rape sells papers.

    Reply
    • While I agree that murder is an important issue the horrific act of rape and violance against women and the fact that it is culturally accepted in certain countries is a massive problem and one that destroys the lives of victims. These countries need to deal with and act on this issue and it should not be tolerated on a global level.

      Reply
    • And if it was your mother, sister, granny, girlfriend, wife, daughter? Mysogenistic much!!!!! Lets hope you never serve on a jury in a rape case. Hang your head in shame.

      Reply
    • You missing the point anne. I am talking about 2 evils here and what I am saying is the one evil is greater than the other with death being the greater evil. Im not wishing either on anyone.

      Reply
    • Maybe people aren’t agreeing with you because you’re saying that murder is the greater evil.
      It isn’t.

      Both things are awful to happen to anyone, and your original comment shows a great lack of sensitivity.

      Whether it is a man or a woman doesn’t matter. To be raped is an awful thing to happen to you and an awful thing to do to someone else. So is murder.

      The article is about a woman being violated and brutally murdered. Please can you show some respect instead of having a rant about it.

      Reply

Add New Comment