Horrific child rape statistics must never become normalised

More than 2,000.

That is how many child rape cases were reported in the Eastern Cape alone during the 2025/2026 financial year, more than 200 of them between one and five years old.

Of those reported cases, more than half remained unresolved by year-end.

Among those cases is that of an 11-year-old KuGompo City boy who was allegedly raped by two women in November.

The boy’s mother described how she had been making long and costly trips to court, only to see proceedings repeatedly delayed.

Her son, meanwhile, was battling.

“My child is struggling in school because he is afraid of women.

“I am constantly called to the school because he is not coping academically and struggles to socialise with other children.

“It is emotionally draining to keep travelling to court and hear that nothing has happened.

“I live far away and depend on public transport. Every trip costs money and takes a toll on me mentally.”

Tragically, as the statistics indicate, theirs is not the only such case.

In addition to the 2,103 child rape cases, the province recorded 175 child murders according to figures released by community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha in response to a parliamentary question from DA MPL Yusuf Cassim.

By the end of the financial year, 1,214 child rape cases, 80 child murder cases and 65 child abuse cases remained unresolved or under investigation.

Only 271 successful child rape prosecutions were recorded from the 2,103 rape cases reported during the period.

And behind every single statistic is a child — and that child’s entire support system — trying to navigate life with the deep emotional scars left by the incidents.

Children are left living in fear and, in some cases, their parents turn to substance abuse as a coping mechanism.

While it is easy to blame the government for failing these children, it should ultimately be the responsibility of every one of us — from individuals and families to schools and churches — to keep our children safe.

We can never allow these grim statistics to become normalised.