Outrage in South Africa over internet rape video
- 18 April 2012
- From the section Africa
South Africans have expressed outrage over the spread of a video that allegedly shows a teenaged girl being raped by a group of men.
It shows a 17-year-old, who is said to have the mental age of a five-year-old, apparently being raped by seven men in the township of Soweto.
The video, which shows the men laughing and joking, has been widely circulated on mobile phones and the internet.
Police have found the girl and charged eight people with kidnap and rape.
The girl went missing in March and her whereabouts were unknown until reporters from the Daily Sun newspaper brought the video to the attention of the police.
The paper reports that the video lasts just over 10 minutes and the girl can be heard shouting "you are forcing me, you are forcing me".
Authorities have warned anyone who has received a copy of the video that they should delete it or risk being charged under the country's sexual offences laws.
South Africa's minister for women and children, Lulu Xingwana, issued a statement saying: "In addition to the painful ordeal of rape the young woman was forced to endure, she is now subjected to a second assault on her dignity (the video)."
The incident has highlighted the issue of rape in South Africa. A recent survey suggested that more than a quarter of the country's men had admitted raping a female.
About 66,000 rapes were reported in the country last year although experts say many victims remain silent.