In South Africa, a rape is reported approximately every 12 minutes. That is more than just a statistic. It is one person stripped of their basic human rights, one person whose body was violated, and one more life forever changed by a crisis that continues to plague the country.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), more than 42 500 rape cases were reported during the 2023/24 financial year. Experts and advocacy organisations, including Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust, caution that this figure represents only reported cases, with many survivors never reporting their assault due to shame, intimidation, or a lack of confidence in the justice system.
In a country where coercion is often mistaken for consent, understanding what consent truly means has never been more important. Consent is not a “maybe”. It is not silence. It is not giving in after someone repeatedly begs or refuses to take no for an answer. Consent is a clear, voluntary, enthusiastic, and ongoing agreement between people to engage in sexual activity and consent can be withdrawn anytime.
Consent goes beyond spoken words. Body language matters too. Someone who freezes, pulls away, avoids eye contact, cries, looks uncomfortable, or appears frightened is not communicating consent. Likewise, a person who is asleep, unconscious, intoxicated, or otherwise unable to make informed decisions cannot consent. Consent must be freely given, not forced through fear, guilt, manipulation, or persistence.
No one has ownership over another person’s body, regardless of the nature of their relationship. However, research consistently shows that many survivors are assaulted by people they know, including intimate partners, friends, and family members.
The World Health Organisation estimates that approximately one in three women globally experiences sexual violence in their lifetime, most often at the hands of someone they know. Many survivors also carry the burden of the assault. Questions about what they were wearing, whether they had been drinking alcohol, why they were walking alone, why they trusted the person, or why they did not “fight back” often replace questions directed at the perpetrator. This culture of victim-blaming shifts responsibility away from those who commit sexual violence and reinforce harmful myths that clothing, alcohol consumption, friendliness, or previous relationships somehow imply consent. They do not. Manipulating someone into doing what you want is not consent, it is abuse.
In an interview with PDBY, one anonymous student shared, “To be a woman is to enter every room with suspicion, as your eyes wander around seeking comfort in a space that could most likely become your crime scene.”
PDBY spoke to more than ten UP students, many of whom shared experiences of sexual harassment in different forms. Some described being catcalled, followed, touched without permission, or repeatedly pressured after refusing unwanted advances. Others said that they no longer feel safe in spaces that should offer security, including university campuses, residences, churches, apartment buildings, and even their own homes. Several students expressed that, even after clearly refusing, their boundaries were ignored.
Balungile Mhlanga, a second-year Political Science student, said “There is no safe space. We are vulnerable. We are silenced.”
These stories reveal a painful truth that women are expected to change their behaviour instead of society confronting those who violate them. Sexual violence continues because rape is not caused by women’s choices. It is caused by perpetrators choosing to ignore consent.
