The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest recorded in the world. Police statistics of reported rapes as a per capita figure has been dropping in recent years, although the reasons for the drop has not been analysed and it is not known how many rapes go unreported. The South African Government has established several measures, including legislation and initiatives to prevent and combat the problem. These are sexual violence support centres which employ a transdisciplinary approach to dealing with the aftermath of an assault, and are considered by the UN as best practice model.
The crime category "sexual offences" includes a wide range of sexual offences, including rape, sexual assault, incest, bestiality , flashing , and other crimes.
The figures in the following table include reported rapes only. The comprehensive study 'Rape in South Africa' in indicated that 2. Similarly, The South African demographic and health survey of gave results of rape prevalence at 4. The study found that "lifetime sexual violence was significantly higher among women who were cohabiting but not married [ This is according to the study titled 'Are we doing alright?
Comparing their findings to other research on sexual violence amongst the population at large in South Africa, the study notes that "the lifetime prevalence of sexual violence among LGBTI people is very much higher than among the general population". On violence victimization long racial lines, it noted that "black participants had also experienced slightly higher levels of all forms of violence, compared to white participants, although these differences were not always statistically significant".
In , the region of Gauteng accounted for the largest percentage of prisoners in custody for sexual offences with The province with the least percentage of prisoners convicted of sexual offences was Northern Cape with 3. The South African Crime Survey [ 10 ] highlights the regional differences of citizens' perceptions and fears.
