- Sexual assault is so prevalent not even just in South Africa, but also in the KwaZulu-Natal province where the virginity grant was born. Within two weeks of the grant being released, a video was circulated in the same area that showed about 15 boys (around the ages of 16-19) ganging up on one 15 year-old girl. That is the most vile thing I think I have ever laid my eyes on. What if the same thing happened to a scholarship receiver? Would the state have taken away her scholarship since she didn't decide to save herself?
- It doesn't just end there. There was another video that was circulated shortly before the above-mentioned video took place. Apparently in the same place, the KwaZulu-Natal province, four (maybe more) teenagers surrounded a group of boys in a lake and dragged them into the forest and forced them to rape each other. I'm not joking, that's a real thing that happened in this world. It doesn't just affect girls, it affects everyone. The grant effectively diminishes the effect sexual trauma can have on males by diminishing the value of sex and "pureness" to them.
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How I felt after researching those horrible, horrible stories
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- At the UCT (University of Cape Town) campus the other day, there was another rape that was reported. Now, the total count is up to four within the past week. Officials have yet to determine if it was the same person responsible for all four incidents and have yet to make any arrests, but at least they're investigating it. This fits perfectly with the theme that many girls don't have the option of staying a virgin, it's not their fault and so shouldn't be faulted or praised for the happenings of their body.
- Another South African incident that occurred within the same month was the rape of activist Amber Amour who instagrammed what happened to her minutes after her attacker left. She was on her "Stop Rape. Educate" campaign in Cape Town when she was attacked in the shower. She chose to instagram her whole ordeal from the incident itself, to showing her rape kit, to screenshots of all the backlash she's received because of her publicity with the whole event. This also ties into the assumption that sexual assault is so common, by a grant awarded to girls who remain virgins, what if one of the recipients is raped? Will her scholarship be taken away from her because of a crime that was committed against her?
- In the United States, a debate was going on regarding the validity of virginity tests and if it's even ethical for doctors to perform since it violates the woman's rights as a patient. Even doctors from South Africa have concluded that no benefit can come from the patient if a virginity test is administered. However, it does give young girls an unlikely weapon against older men in these cultures. Even though this practice is performed by older women from the community, if a girl tells a man that she has an appointment to get a test done, it has the potential to ward off unwanted advances.
- On a brighter note, In Iraq, judges have stopped referring ISIS rape victims to virginity tests, deeming them an inaccurate representation of whether rape has or hasn't occurred. The judge in charge of the case decided to adopt more human rights-favored processes based on UN recommendations. This is an awesome and much-needed win for the struggle for women's rights. After digging through so many sob stories it's so refreshing to finally hear a good story. The world isn't all bad after all, just mostly bad.
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