In an interview, district AIDS coordinator, Tshoganetso Mahupe, said the majority of cases go unreported which leads to perpetrators not facing the wrath of the law. Mahupe said some of the reasons for not reporting are that a majority of victims do not have identity documents or even birth certificates, which makes it difficult to verify their age. Mahupe, who said the majority of cases involve vulnerable children and orphans, added that even where parents want to report, the lack of of Omang and birth certificates wasa hindrance.
“When victims do not have the relevant documents it becomes a challenge to verify their age. There is currently a campaign to register those children who are eligible for identity documents but don’t have them,” she said. She added that most young girls are raped while sleeping in their homes. She also said most people are disadvantaged with their way of living as some homesteads do not have enough space forcing children to sleep outside. Mahupe revealed that in certain cases, victims imbibe alcohol and sleep in drunken states, leaving them open to abuse and assault. “When the victim wakes up, that is when they realise tthey have been raped,” Mahupe explained. “It will only be by sheer luck if a condom has been used during the act. This has also increased the number of teenage pregnancies and e HIV prevalence in the region.”
