Introduction: The Occurrence of Rape in Sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of this blog, “Rape in Sub-Saharan Africa”, is to examine the issue of rape of women in Sub-Saharan Africa and inform others. The issue of rape is important to the Sub-Saharan African women’s movement as well as the global women’s movement as it affects the emotional and physical well-being of numerous women in Sub-Saharan Africa and is an act of violence that occurs throughout the world, adversely affecting countless women.  So perpetuating the belief that rape is something that happens in less democratic countries where women have less rights acts against the fight to end violence against women. Therefore the tendency by the mythical norm-white, educated, young, middle-class, men- and mainstream society to ‘other’ the issue and victims of rape is alarming, given it’s global status as a violent crime issue.

            What is rape? Rape is a sexual attack.

            Rape is a sexual attack, however a more women’s studies definition is that rape is a “crime of aggression” and the “focus is on hurting and dominating” (Shaw and Lee, 563). This form of violence committed by men against women is used in many ways. In sub-Saharan Africa rape occurs in each form, such as child rape, acquaintance rape, wartime rape, corrective rape of lesbians, and stranger rape.  Rape as a weapon of violence in war is prevalent in counties at conflict. Rape as a method of torture or retaliation in conflict is a war crime. Committing such a heinous crime as rape and justifying it as a part of war is misogynistic thinking reinforced by the sexist and patriarchal ideals that permeate global culture, even more so when in situations where violence and war are the normal state of the day-to-day for the duration of the existing conflict.

Citations

Shaw, Susan M., and Janet Lee. "Ch 10: Resisting Violence Against

Women." Women's Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary

Readings. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009. Print.