Next week
a British priest goes on trial in
Cape Town on charges of indecent
assault. His alleged victim is a ten year old boy –
an orphan who had been placed in one of the city’s
shelters for homeless children. This is not an
isolated case. Also in August, a Seapoint property
tycoon will appear in court on charges of indecently
assaulting young boys. Another city resident has
recently been arrested in connection with the sexual
abuse of street children. The list is growing.
The
horrifying fact is that on the streets of
Cape Town, homeless
underage boys are regularly sexually abused by a
growing number of paedophiles. The street kids call
them “bunnies.”
This
is the term they use to describe the predominantly
middle-aged white men who pay them to have sex.
According to community activists, street children
are collected at night at designated pick-up spots,
yet the public remains largely unaware of what is
taking place. Many of the NGOs which have been
established to provide care and shelter for Cape
Town’s street children conveniently turn a blind
eye. And the police say they have “bigger fish to
fry” than a bunch of sexual predators preying on
little boys living on the margins of society.
Compounding the problem is the fact that our Sexual
Offences Bill does not make provision for male rape.
Even though the age of consent remains 19, the law
provides inadequate protection for underage, male
victims of sexual assault. This means that even if
convicted, paedophiles often receive little more
than a slap on the wrist for sexual crimes against
boys.
The
children on the streets of
Cape Town find it difficult to
refuse the “bunnies” because the money they are
offered provides them with food, clothing or drugs.
Although most feel ashamed of prostituting
themselves they have learned to deal with the abuse
as another means of survival. Yet the long term
psychological damage is incalculable.
Although
most of the young boys are reluctant to recount the
humiliating experiences inflicted on them by the
“bunnies”, an increasing number of street children
are starting to speak out. And their message is that
Cape Town has become a paedophiles’ paradise, where
vulnerable young boys can be plucked off the street
and sexually abused with impunity.
Bunny
Town is directed by
Hazel Freidman and was filmed by Shamiel Albertyn
and Brian Uranovsky
