WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2007-08-13 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
Preteens are the main victims of sexual harassment, abuse and rape on farms in the Boland and Overberg, according to a study released on Sunday.
The study by the Rural Education Awareness and Community Health (Reach) NGO, showed that males and females alike were sexually harassed and about a third knew of someone else who had been harassed by the same perpetrator.
While 32 percent of males and females interviewed had experienced some form of sexual harassment, including rape, almost a third of females and 41 percent males knew of someone on their farm who had also been sexually abused.
Most victims were children of 12 years and younger and the main type of abuse was rape, according to the findings, released on Sunday at Reach’s first annual general meeting in Grabouw.
Information was obtained at weekend education workshops on farms and through surveys and interviews.
“When we revealed the information on children being subject to abuse, the shock on parents’ faces was evident, perhaps because most perpetrators are known. Sexual abuse of children is being exposed.
“We bring this to the attention of government and organisations such as Rape Crisis and Child Line. Government must allocate resources and the organisations should check what they can do to intervene in rural areas. There are community groups out here, but they need help,” Reach executive director Joanie Fredericks said.
She said alcohol was a major contributor, as incidents occurred mostly over weekends when people were drunk, or in social or home settings.
Other findings include:
Fredericks said sexual harassment victims were reluctant to divulge information because they earned little.
Women on Farms director Fatima Shabodien said she was not surprised by the findings. From her organisation’s experience with women living on farms, the sexual abuse rate was much higher. On most farms there was a culture of sexual exploitation, she said.
“Looking from the outside, no one would say there is a crisis, but we view this matter with great alarm.”
Even if inadequacies in the justice and policing systems were resolved, a lot of effort would be required to instil good values.
“People at the receiving end of this kind of abuse are those who are dependent and rely on someone else for their livelihood – especially women and children. So another important intervention is economic empowerment,” Shabodien said.