South Africa: Backlash against white judge who says black men believe rape is a "cultural right"

[davidn3600]

A white South African high court judge is the subject of the latest in a series of race rows in the country after she said that black South African men regarded rape as a cultural right.

Mabel Jansen, a high court judge for the past three years who works in Pretoria, told commenters on a Facebook thread that "99 per cent" of her cases were "black fathers/uncles/brothers raping children as young as 5 years old", then asked one poster: "Is this part of your culture?"

She claimed that she was “yet to meet a black girl who wasn’t raped by the age of 12”. She said the “poverty etc” created by apartheid was “largely to blame” for South Africa’s widely-acknowledged sexual violence epidemic but added: "Fact: Apartheid existed. Fact: Black children and women are raped and abused and beaten and mistreated by black men to an extent that is so sickening one cannot even cope with it. And that is a FACT."

Mrs Jansen’s comments, which were made in May last year but came to light when they were shared by a social justice activist, have sparked outrage in South Africa where social media has played a role in bringing to the fore racist attitudes in some quarters and hosting passionate debates about them.

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In a series of comments, Mrs Jansen said that black mothers were “so brain-washed that they tell the children that it is the fathers’ birth right to be the first”. “In their culture (black men) a woman is there to pleasure them. Period. It is seen as an absolute right and a woman’s consent is not required,” she wrote. “Murder is also not biggy. And gang rapes of baby, daughter and mother a pleasurable pass time.” She was challenged over her comments by Gillian Schuttel, the activist that publicised her comments, who suggested that her experience was directly related to the field she worked in and was not applicable to society more broadly.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/09/white-south-african-judge-sparks-outrage-after-claiming-rape-is/

[philosslayer]

1. She is clearly not fit to be on the bench

She sounds like a wretched woman.

[TipTok]

2. That whole country has issues top to bottom with race...

... that won't be resolved any time soon.

[FLPanhandle]

5. So what are the actual rape statistics for South Africa?

Is she right in the assertion that she was “yet to meet a black girl who wasn’t raped by the age of 12”.

What are the stats?

[FrodosPet]

6. Rape is a problem worldwide for all races

Yes, South Africa has a seriously patriarchy problem.

So do a lot of other countries where machismo is unchecked. Including ours.

[redgreenandblue]

8. Sounds like something people would say about Syrian refugees on DU. nt

[TacoD]

13. Sadly true (nt)

[Taitertots]

9. Who will ignore a real rape culture to avoid feeling racist?

Why do so many people feel that any characterization of the actions of a group of people is an attack on the characteristic used for grouping them?

If Black South African culture is even marginally more favorable to rape than we must call it out and take action to rectify the situation.

[LanternWaste]

11. it is incumbent to provide objective evidence to support the premise in question; otherwise, it's m

"If Black South African culture is even marginally more favorable to rape than we must call it out and take action to rectify the situation..."

However, it is incumbent to provide objective evidence to support the premise in question (the judge's statement); otherwise, it's merely an allegation predicated wholly on race making it, by definition a racist statement. Taking actions to rectify a problem without direct and relevant knowledge of correlation/cause is a fool's errand.

[dawg]

10. There is a cultural belief within some groups that having sex with a virgin purifies you.

Even if that sex is coerced or forced. Even if the virgin is very young.

Some even believe it can cure them of AIDS.

This is a real cultural thing in South Africa. I think this judge is taking a thing that really does exist, and is unfairly projecting it to all South African blacks. But we shouldn't be judging her by U.S. standards, because the situation really is very different.

[smirkymonkey]

12. I would like to see the statistics on this before condemning her first.

This could actually be a cultural problem and people should be afraid to discuss it simply due to fear of being called racist.

[One_Life_To_Give]

14. 50 percent of all cases before South African courts are for rape

50 percent of all cases before South African courts are for rape

Might have something to do with this Judges perception. I also see

police say 90 percent of rape in that community is against children younger than 12.

SA Medical Journal in December 2002, found that the average age of children raped was three.

http://www.hst.org.za/news/rape-has-become-way-life-south-africa

Her views may be racist and are certainly not worded to avoid causing offense. But she just might be seeing alot of ugliness paraded in front of her every day.

[lapislzi]

15. Maybe it's me

Maybe I'm so out of step with the world that I honestly don't know how things work any more. But, I'll say this: is social media--specially Facebook in this instance--an appropriate forum for a public official to be taking a pointed stand on such a loaded topic? I'm not even employed in the public sector, but I have the common sense not to broadcast sensitive material about my profession on social media. That is dumb, dumb, dumb, and should be cause for immediate dismissal, regardless of the objectionable content of the post.

There is totally a rape and patriarchy culture in South Africa. It cuts across all socioeconomic and racial lines. More black women are raped because...there are more black women. Rather than an info-dump and squabbles on Facebook, can this judge be subjected to a thorough inquiry and removed by due process?

And don't even get me started on the questionable literacy of this judge. "Pass time?" How did you get on the bench with those English skills? Never mind; I already know. English was a despised language by the political class during the 80s and 90s. They hate having to use it now. (Yes, I'm making the unsubstantiated assumption, based on educated guesswork, that this woman is a native Afrikaans speaker and a product of white apartheid culture).

I lived in South Africa during apartheid, and I was heartened by many of the changes that took place during Mandela's presidency. It saddens me that these racist throwbacks are still finding themselves in positions of power.