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Victimology
Assignment 1
Unique Number 842242

CMY3705

Provide a detailed discussion of how males and females can become victims of
harmful cultural practices and how future victimization can be prevented

CONTENTS

1 Introduction....................................................................................3

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2. Definitions......................................................................................3

3. The global picture..........................................................................4

4. The male, female divide................................................................4

5. The African perspective.................................................................5

5. Legal protection in South Africa.....................................................6

6 Harmful cultural practices in South Africa.......................................6

7. How further victimization can be prevented.................................11

8. Bibliography.................................................................................15

1. Introduction

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In a world of cultural globalisation it is difficult to imagine harmful cultural practices still

exist. Yet they do. In this essay, we will explore how men and women become victims
and how this can be prevented in the future.

2. Definitions

Breast ironing - crushing, heating or smashing a young girl's breasts to flatten them in
an effort to maintain a girl's pre-pubescent appearance, (Bond, A. 2016).

Circumcision - removal of the penile foreskin

Cultural practices - social practices that the community concerned accepts as

obligatory and customary law as the body of law derived from these practices, which in
its most pristine form, it is unwritten; an oral repertoire. (Bennet, 2004, page 1)

FGM - female genital mutilation, traditional circumcision of females

Lobola - a bride price, traditionally paid in cattle

Levirate marriage Where a man is forced to marry his widowed sister-in-law, or a

widow is forced to marry her brother-in-law, (Anon. 2017).

Sub-incision - a urethrectomy in which the undersurface of the penis is incised and the
urethra slit open lengthwise, (Pounder, D.J. 1983)

Ukuthwala- a form of consensual abduction that involves kidnapping a young woman

by a man and his friends with the intention of compelling the female's family to agree to
their marriage, (Anon. 2015.DoJ&CD).

Ulwaluko - traditional circumcision of African males

Victim - A person who has been harmed by a perpetrator

Widow cleansing when a widow is expected to have sex with the deceaseds brother
or other relative (Anon. 2017).

3. The global picture

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The global picture should really be an historical picture in that cultural practices have
become less important as we move towards a wealthier, more global society.But the fact
is that not everyone is becoming wealthier, not everyone is able to move towards a
more global society, and not everyone wants to move in this direction anyway.

Globalisation has allowed us to become more aware of harmful cultural practices and
the urge to force-fix them is almost overwhelming.

4. The male/female divide

4.1 Women

The vast majority of harmful cultural practices are carried out on women. Some of these
practices are driven by poverty such as child marriage, where a family will sell a
daughter to pay off a debt. In certain cultures, for example Chinese rural culture, a boy
is an investment, as he will look after his parents for life, while a girl will marry and look
after her husbands parents. Add on to that the previous one-child policy by the
government and couples are naturally going to prefer a boy, (Nardelli, A. & Swann, G.
2015). This leads to sex-selective abortion, infanticide and abandonment of girls, and an
underground service for child trafficking in which boys are snatched for adoption
(Moore, M. 2010).

In other places, such as India, families need to pay a dowry for their daughters to marry.

In these nations too there is a vast preference for boys, with the same results as in
China. Only in places where government is more lax, girls are subjected to even worse
conditions, with families not investing in girls' education or health.

Women also face threats, and violence if their in-laws want more dowry, (Delhi, D.N.N.
2013).

In some instances, girls become the target of punishment for another family members
crime, and village councils might order a girl to be raped because her brother has done
something wrong, (Hadid, D. & Khan, A.S.A. 2017).

4.2 Both male and female

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In some countries, violent and cruel death sentencessuch as beheadings or stoning in

some Islamic countries are part of the culture, where both men and women are
victims. In Africa, males and females, especially albinos, are at risk of dismemberment
and murder for magical purposes, (Bearak, M. 2016).

4.3 Males

Boys in Afghanistan are at risk of being kidnapped and turned into sex slaves, known as
bacha bazi. The practice is so widespread that their masters openly flaunt them in
public, and local authorities are indifferent, (AFP Kabul team 2017).

In some places boys need to go through initiation ceremonies to prove their manhood.
Boys in Papua New Guinea endure a brutal ritual that involves beatings, threats of
death, stabbing sticks up their noses to make them bleed, and enforced homosexual
acts, all for the sake of making them into fierce warriors, (Herdt, G.H. 1998). And in
some parts of the world young boys still go through sub-incision, (Pounder, D.J. 1983).

4. The African perspective

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the United Nations
Human Rights Declaration go a long way to protecting people from harmful cultural
practices. They formally reject the notion of slavery and torture, and enshrine dignity,
life, liberty and security. However, those are merely ideals. The reality is quite different.

While there are many good cultural practices in Africa, there are others that are harmful,
exploitative, dangerous or deadly.

For example, in Niger, girls become wahaya or fifth wives. Islam allows a man to have
four wives. The fifth wives are slaves to the family, enduring servitude and rape. Owning
wahaya is prestigious and so wealthy men will own several, (Msuya, N.H. 2017).

5. Legal protection inSouth Africa

South Africas constitution is one of the most progressive in the world. It lays out in
Sections 30 and 31 there should be a respect for cultural diversity, to accommodate

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cultural diversity, provided that the acts and provisions related to the culture do not
contravene the constitution.

Furthermore, the Constitutions Chapter 2, Bill of Rights, gives citizens, including

children, rights that contradict certain cultural practices, (Anon. 2005).

Yet, as we can easily see from the 2011 Save the Children report, the reality is not in
step with the constitution, and these practices continue, (Martin, P. & Mambo, B. 2011)

6. Harmful cultural practices in South Africa

Women, who with little opportunity for independence due to a lack of financial security,
remain trapped in harmful customary practices.

6.1 Witch hunts

Women can fall victim to witch hunting, where as vulnerable elderly people or single
women they can be assaulted or even killed if someone believes they are a witch.
Sometimes this is done for reasons of gaining property.

6.2 Ukuthwala

Girls as young as 12 may be subjected or rape and kidnapping disguised as ukuthwala.

This practice has changed from the past where it occurred between two consenting
adults who wanted to force their families to allow them to get married.

Barkhuizen refers to the case of a Nombulelo and China in which a teen was sold into
sexual slavery by her mother. There is no doubt that this was a crime on the adults part
and should have been treated as such. The girl should have been given proper care
and support to help her complete her education and heal from the trauma of the crime.

6.3 Child marriage

However there are still cases where young girls are forced into marriage, which is
extremely harmful to their health and wellbeing, from interrupting their education, to

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condemning them to always being reliant on their partner. Young girls are not always
able to have children without a complicated birthing and can suffer physical damage as
a result.

One of the drivers of child marriage, is poverty. Desperate families are eager to get the
lobola or bride price for their daughters (Martin, P. & Mambo, B. 2011).

6.4 Lobola

Lobola itself can be viewed as a harmful cultural practice because nowadays it

commercialises the relationship between a man and woman, reinforcing the idea that a
man owns a woman, instead of the traditional value of lobola as being a union between
two families.

6.5 Virginity testing (ukuhlolwa)

Girls expected to remain pure can be forced into virginity testing, (Dlamini, B. 2016).
This is a controversial issue because it is viewed by many as a means of ensuring girls
don't become infected with HIV. They say it teenage pregnancy. But detractors argue
that it is a violation of the girl's rights. They say it is discriminatory in that girls found to
not be virgins are treated differently. They also say they method of visual or manual
checking is unscientific. (Chakamba, R. 2016).

The law says that the girls need to be 16 or older and consent to the test.

6.7 FGM

Female genital mutilation, which goes under a variety of names, is still practiced, and is
especially more prevalent among migrants from northern regions in Africa (Isilow, H.
2011).But it is not only limited to migrants. Barbara Kitui (2012)makes it clear that some
Venda people carry out FGM on young girls too.

6.8 Breast ironing

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Mothers iron the breasts of their daughter in a desperate attempt to keep them looking
too young for sex to prevent them falling pregnant and ending their education. There
have been cases reported in South Africa (Dugan, E. 2013). While this is horrific and
clearly criminal, the intention is good.

6.9 Dry sex

The idea that women should not be too eager for intercourse leads some to practice dry
sex, using herbs, douches or even fine sand in their vaginas to heighten the pleasure of
their partner. The friction of dry sex can cause vaginal abrasion which increases the risk
of HIV infection, (Van Dyk., A. 2012).

6.10 Widow cleansing

Women and men also face widow cleansing or leviration which may not be consensual.
It, too, can lead to transmission of STDs including HIV, (Van Dyk., A. 2012).

6.11 Ulwaluko

Young men are expected to undergo Ulwaluko when they reach the age of 16,or soon
after. This circumcision rite isstill allowed, even though the initiates may face harsh
treatment or suffer harm that requires penile amputation. Ultimately, though, it is their
choice. These days many young men choose to have the circumcision done in hospital
and only undergo the learning phase of the initiation.

Men who are not circumcised are made fun of and ostracised so there is a great amount
of pressure on the teens to go through the ceremony.

However, according to the Save the Children report, boys usually undergo a cooling off
period where they isolate themselves from the rest of the clan. In the Eastern Cape this
has morphed into the idea that they must have a sexual cleansing, but it does not detail
whether or not this is consensual.

Barkhuizen refers to cases where males who have decided not to go through Ulwaluko are
forcibly circumcised, which is obviously in violation of the constitution and was ruled as such.

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South Africa is a male oriented disciplinarian society, so children still endure assault
from their parents in the form of discipline. While corporal punishment has been
outlawed in prisons and schools, it remains largely a parental prerogative (Martin, P. &
Mambo, B. 2011).

7. How further victimization can be prevented

There are many pressing issues in South Africa that require money, time and manpower
and it is hard to solve them all quickly. The battles chosen will have to be the most
pressing - such as witch hunting, FGM, and the dire inequality between men and
women.

The difficulty lies in two issues. The first is that the law is not protecting everyone
equally. If it looks away when someone is raped or mutilated, just because it is done in
the name of culture, therefore it fails to treat everyone equally. The second is that
criminalizing these acts they will not stop them completely. They will be driven
underground which can cause further health issues and suffering.

One way to protect as many victims as possible would be to work with traditional
healers, for example, to provide correct training and offer means of sanitation and even
local anesthetic to prevent trauma and disease at the frontline of circumcision and FGM.

Traditional healers should be registered and there should be zero tolerance for those, or
anyone, who is an accessory to witch hunting. It is murder, it's a hate crime. It is also
driven by poverty and superstition and funds need to be available to protect vulnerable
elderly women.

That would need to be closely followed by working with elders and dragging the issue
into the spotlight so that these matters can be discussed openly, offering citizens
education regarding these matters so they know their rights and can make informed
decisions regarding their health and their options.

Health workers or volunteers need to be knocking on doors to talk about the way
women are treated, to dispel the myths and superstitions.

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Lastly, there needs to be a concerted effort to lift South African women out of poverty
and dependence on men so that they have other viable options should they choose not
to comply with cultural expectations (Shisana, O. & Davids, A).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

AFP Kabul team 2017. Bacha bazi: Afghan subculture of child sex slavery - Times of
India. The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/bacha-
bazi-afghan-subculture-of-child-sex-slavery/articleshow/59318599.cms 13 August 2017.

Anon. 2005.Children's Act 38 of 2005. The DOJ & CD.

www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/2005-038%20childrensact.pdf 13 August 2017.

Anon.
2015.DoJ&CD. Justice/Resources/Publications/Ukuthwala.http://www.justice.gov.za/bro
chure/ukuthwala/ukuthwala.html 13 August 2017.

Anon. 2017.Levirate marriage. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levirate_marriage 14 August 2017.

Anon. 2017.Sexual cleansing. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_cleansing

14 August 2017.

Anon. muti - definition of muti in English | Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries |

English. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/muti 14 August 2017.

Bailey, C. 2010. Muti killings is a way of life in rural areas. Muti killings is a way of life in
rural areas | IOL News. https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/muti-killings-is-a-way-of-
life-in-rural-areas-470603 13 August 2017.

Barkhuizen, M. 2017. Learning Units for Victimology.Pretoria: University of South Africa.

Bearak, M. 2016. Albinos are being killed in record numbers for their body parts. The
Washington Post.
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killed-in-record-numbers-for-their-body-parts/?utm_term=.273c318274e3 13 August
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Bennett, T. W. (2004). Customary Law in South Africa. Cape Town: Juta and Co Ltd
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Bond, A. 2016. Hundreds of British mums 'breast-ironing' their daughters with rocks and
hammers. mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/hundreds-british-mums-breast-
ironing-7726899 13 August 2017.

Chakamba, R. 2016. The Clash Over Virginity Testing in South Africa. The Huffington
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tests_us_57fbd36ee4b0e655eab67e4f 19 August 2017.

Delhi, D.N.N. 2013. Woman killed over dowry 'every hour' in India. The Telegraph.
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dowry-every-hour-in-India.html 13 August 2017.

Dlamini, B. 2016. Forced virginity-testing is unlawful and offensive, and will not prevent
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Dugan, E. 2013. 'Breast ironing': Girls 'have chests flattened out' to disguise the onset
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Herdt, G.H. 1998. Rituals of manhood: male initiation in Papua New Guinea.New
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Isilow, H. 2011. FGM secretly happening in South Africa. Africa witness.

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Kitui, B. 2012.Female genital mutilation in South Africa. AfricLaw.

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Shisana, O. & Davids, A. Correcting gender inequalities is central to controlling

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