Broadcast DetailsShow: Special Assignment VIIIEpisode Title: Bunny Town
Date: Tuesday, 8 August, 2006
Time: 21h30
Channel: SABC 3
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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.
While 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.
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.