A girl of nine scribbles absently with a pen. Her drawing shows a man grabbing her throat and raping her. One in four girls in South Africa is seriously abused before they turn 16. In Cape Town alone, a rape occurs every 30 seconds. Worse still, the majority of these men have AIDS, believing that sex with a young virgin will cure them. “The men are worse than animals,” seethes Thabisile Msezane, who runs a shelter for 56 abused children. But overcrowded prisons and a flawed justice system mean very few rapists end up behind bars. Those that do are often free within months. “Our mother got some money together,” admits a convicted rapist. “Then she bribed the woman. So, she retracted the claim.” New laws mean rape should now mean life. But until people are educated about AIDS, the abuse of minors will continue.

Produced by Marion Mayor-Hohdahl