'Women In Sleep' Rape Goes Up
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday December 7, 2021 06:00
Rape cases in the village continue to rise despite efforts made by law enforcement officers to fight the scourge. Police in the area have since established that most of the recent incidents involving sexual assault include women being attacked and raped while in their sleep.
The concern follows two recent rape incidents, one involving a 20-year-old young woman who was attacked and raped whilst in her sleep. Letlhakane police station commander, Superintendent Michael Maphephu said both of the rape cases were recorded on Wednesday.
“On Wednesday night, a 20-year-old young woman of Mokgobele ward in Letlhakane was sleeping with the window open and was woken up by an intruder who raped her at knifepoint and escaped through the same window. Earlier that afternoon, a 15-year-old girl was also attacked and raped whilst walking in the bush to the lands,” he said.
Maphephu stated that both attackers are still unknown and on the loose. He revealed that despite their efforts to sensitise both men and women on rape in his policing area, women live in the deepest fear of rapists causing havoc as demonstrated by the growing statistics.
Focussing on incidents in which women were attacked and raped whilst in their sleep, Maphephu said they have since recorded five similar cases this year alone.
“We are worried by the growing number of rape cases within our policing area. Nowadays, we have discovered a growing trend in which women are attacked whilst sleeping and raped,” Maphepu said.
“These incidents of intruders getting through the window are growing, but we will continue doing our best in terms of coming up with interventions that will help us curtail rape cases within our policing area.”
Furthermore, the station head urged Letlhakane residents not to sleep with their windows and doors unsecured notwithstanding the heatwave.
He said for years they have been battling rape incidents that occur at drinking spots in the cattle posts with most of the perpetrators being herdsmen, but they have since established a trend in which women are attacked and raped within the village.
“I am more especially pleading with men to learn to communicate with women of their age than inflicting pain on minors,” Maphephu pleaded.