- Ages of consent in Africa
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- Ages of consent to sex in South Africa
Ultimately, teaching children about sexual consent and integrating lessons about rape culture in school curricula could have an enormous impact on reducing sexual offences against women in South Africa. Furthermore, South African law states that no child under the age of 12 can consent to sex, and therefore, sex with a pre-teen is rape or sexual assault.
The Court is fully equipped to help and support survivors of sexual assault, gender-based violence and femicide, and it offers the following services:. It clear that we, as South Africans need to educate ourselves, our children and our loved ones on what sexual consent is, and it is a broad-brush-stroke issue.
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These discussions will hopefully lay the foundations for change: a change in understanding, perception and culture. So many lives depend on this. Inappropriate and criminal behaviour is also, unfortunately, prevalent in offices around the country. Skip to content Sales Line 99 44 Legal Help Line 00 22 Can I make you a cup of tea or something? What does the law say about the legal age of consent in South Africa? Related articles. Can't find the legal advice you're looking for? Are you a Policyholder? King indicates that one reason given by young couples for their divorce is loss of sexual attraction and subsequent weakening of their intimate relationship.
Lack of communication is another underlying cause of many divorces among young couples; failure to communicate makes it difficult for couples to resolve the financial, sexual and emotional issues affecting their marriage Benokraitis, Infidelity - also referred to as 'adultery' and commonly known as 'cheating' on one's partner - is near the top of the list of reasons for divorce among young couples in South Africa Preller, It does not matter whether it is a wife or husband who is unfaithful, the repercussions can be devastating for the entire family.
Various factors may lead to adultery such as lack of intimacy and communication as well as sexual dissatisfaction in marriage. Infertility may cause anxiety, distress and frustration in marriage and subsequently lead to divorce. Having children is the most common reason why people get married Benokraitis, Arugu says, "In African culture, any marriage that is not blessed with children is not considered to have achieved its aim". Childlessness is not acceptable in many societies that place a high value on children.
It is assumed that when a couple cannot bear children, there will be nobody to remember them. Their genealogical line will disappear.
Ages of consent in Africa
Abuse is one of the major contributors to the dissolution of marriage Preller, It occurs in all age groups, ethnic groups and class groups, and comes in a variety of forms, from physical abuse domestic violence to verbal, emotional, psychological and even financial abuse. The most painful issue is that children learn what they see. By merely being a witness to abuse between their parents, they might at a later stage become victims in abusive relationships themselves. Today, family interaction is affected by social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
People are free to post or share any sensitive comments without thinking about the influence the shared information may have in a relationship or marriage. Many hours are spent on social media, leading to a disconnect between the couples that often cannot be repaired, and consequently divorce follows Preller, Divorce rates amongst the black population are increasing more rapidly than among any of the other groups in the country Oosthuizen, Economic factors such as poor or negative growth and inflationary tendencies put a strain on young couples who want more with meagre resources.
Money means different things to different people, so financial issues are often a reason for marital conflict and tend to lead to divorce among young couples King, Family competition and couples who live beyond their means may often lead to financial stress and subsequently divorce. For instance, a partner may wish to drive a car that the couple cannot afford, because friends or neighbours are driving such a car.
Families are more likely now to accept it when a daughter gets divorced, as it has become very apparent that women are more than capable of having a successful and happy life after marriage.
Sexual Consent in South Africa | LAW FOR ALL Online
Modern women know their rights and are much more likely to exercise them Emery, Research suggests that African men are likely to divorce a woman if they feel disrespected and when the woman earns more than they do Scarpitti and Anderson, ; Preller, ; Oosthuizen, Households where both spouses are employed are becoming more common among the modern-day families, which often have both spouses working, regardless of whether they have children or not. Traditional cultural norms and expectations regard women as care givers in the family, while men are responsible for taking care of the family.
Women are regarded as in all respects inferior to the husbands. They are expected to look after the children and perform other household duties. Parsons argued that women's employment, especially in high-level jobs, was destructive to marriage by creating competition rather than enhancing solidarity between the husband and wife. The marriage-as-gendered-institution view is that spouses are more likely to separate when the man is not employed or when the woman is employed.
Observations suggest that some men have an inferiority complex Murphy, about earning lower salaries than their wives. In some marriages, mother and daughter-in-law relationships may be a challenge.
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Another observation by researchers is that some husbands may leave their wives because they do not get along with their mothers-in-law. The relationship problem becomes rife especially when the daughter-in-law ngwetsi stays with the in-laws. Given the causes of divorce, the family life cycle process may be disrupted. The complexity of the consequences of divorce include reorganising the new family after divorce rather than dismantling it. For instance, it becomes necessary to establish new values, roles, rules and routines of life as the family is now consists of one parent.
Consequently, the changes are a source of great stress, for children and parents, making it difficult to accept and adjust to the process of change. This has produced a myriad of social problems such as single parenthood, divorce, separations, to name just a few Treas, et al.
Ages of consent to sex in South Africa
These cases are rapidly on the increase. Few marriages among couples between the ages of 18 and 35 in South Africa last beyond 5 years, because divorce has become such an accepted alternative to working out marital problems Kgoleng, Getting married "too young" was reported as a major contributing factor to divorce by Divorce among young couples is relatively common in contemporary developing countries and causes significant distress, hence the study of the dissolution of marriage among young adults is of interest to policy-makers and society more broadly.
Many studies Ernest, ; Tembe, ; Scott, et al. Divorce as a societal phenomenon has gained much attention from researchers in the social sciences, particularly social work, psychology and sociology. Studies conducted on this phenomenon encompass the causes and effects of divorce on both parents and children, as well as the recommended therapy by clinicians. For the purposes of this study the researchers devote attention to factors contributing to divorce among young couples.
Up-to-date knowledge of the reported reasons for divorce among young adults may also be important for relationship counsellors, and for men and women attempting to evaluate their own experience. Furthermore, this knowledge may be useful for guiding preventive interventions by informing relationship and marriage advice.
According to McGoldrick, Carter and Garcia-Preto , the emotional and intellectual stages that one passes through from childhood to old age as a member of a family are called the family life cycle. The family life cycle perspective describes a series of stages though which each couple investable passes. Each stage consists of specific developmental tasks expected to be accomplished. The family life cycle stages of development include independence, coupling, parenting, launching, retirement and late life.
In this paper the researchers focus on the three most relevant stages, namely the independence, coupling and parenting as identified by McGoldrick et al. The independence stage is the one when an individual enters young adulthood where one begins to detach oneself emotionally from one's family.
It is during this stage that one strives to support oneself fully emotionally, physically, socially, and financially. One begins to develop unique qualities and characteristics commitment, commonality, compatibility, trust and attachments that define one's individual identity McGoldrick et al. Intimacy is a vital skill to develop during this stage. Intimacy is the ability to develop and maintain close relationships that can endure hard times and other challenges.
The couple's ability to develop an intimate relationship depends on how successful they were at developing their individual identity earlier in their lives. The coupling stage takes place when one joins another family through marriage or a committed union in which the couple form a new family system.
One's family system includes one's personal ideas, expectations and values. These are shaped by the relationships and experiences within one's original family. When an individual marries or forms a union, that person combines their family system with that of their spouses or partners McGoldrick et al. The ultimate goal at this stage is to achieve independence, which occurs when one is able to fully enter into a relationship with another person.
This also requires the sharing of goals and sometimes the ability to place the needs of the other above one's own. Parenting is one of the most challenging phases of the family life cycle. The decision to have children is one that affects a couples' individual development. Divorce rates peak during the parenting stage. Children are so time-consuming that skills not learned in previous stages will be difficult to pick up at this stage.
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For instance, the ability to communicate well, maintaining a healthy relationship and solve problems may be tested. In case the couples failed to learn compromise and commitment in the previous stage, they may not have the skills to transition well into this stage. Various challenges of this stage include setting positive boundaries with the family of origin, unrealistic expectations regarding child-rearing, gender disparities in the home and at work regarding caregiving, and securing good, affordable, safe childcare Healthwise, Challenges may be encountered such as divorce or loss of a loved one during the transitional periods between these stages, which subsequently lead to individuals building or gaining new skills.
Dealing with unexpected crises, stressful circumstances or passing expected milestones may temporarily threaten an individual or couples' usual developmental progress. Ultimately a realignment in the family's organisation and the family cycle development may be affected. Table 1 outlines the stages outlined by Carter and McGoldrick commonly observed prior to and after a divorce. Couples who divorce eventually remarry and start another family unit.
A remarriage often gives rise to the so-called blended family, which is particularly complex, since the two adults entering this new marriage may bring along biological children and sometimes stepchildren from one or more previous marriages, and subsequently they may bear additional children. There may also be multiple sets of grandparents, stepparents and other family members.