One could say she is a victim of vicious social circumstances which have turned the abnormal into the normal.

The daughter of a domestic worker mother, she lives in an informal settlement on Johannesburg's western periphery. With no father in the picture, her mother has had to break her back to get her to her 16 years of age and get her a semblance of a decent education.

Wayward Girl has serious discipline issues and her mother is absolutely terrified of her. The mother acquiesces to her every demand. The latest cellphones are a standard demand from this young woman.

But she does not hold on to them for long as she "loses" them. This year alone she has lost three. Neighbours suspect she peddles them for money to acquire drugs.

She has been known to pass out at taverns where she and some of her friends drink with older men.

Not a great fan of education, she often arrives late for school or bunks altogether. One morning last month Wayward Girl was late for school.

The principal, a disciplinarian who has been trying to instil order and responsibility among the pupils, has a policy that late arrivals must first accept punishment if the gates are to be opened for them.

On that particular morning Wayward Girl convinced some of the fellow pupils she was with not to accept the punishment option but rather turn back and go find fun. Some agreed to follow her lead.

She then phoned an on-off boyfriend of hers, who is a 20-something man with no discernible means of income. Sensing opportunity, the man invited the girls over to his place for a day of fun.

He then called up a few of his own friends to join in.

After booze and who knows what else had been consumed, the day ended with the rape of the girls. Distraught and in pain, the girl came home crying and told her mother what had happened.

The very next day, the on-off boyfriend's family came over to apologise for the incident.

They offered her mother R500 compensation. She was about to accept the fine until the intervention of a neighbour and the girl's uncle, who insisted that the matter be reported to the police.

They escorted the mother and the girl to the police station where she laid the charge. After a few days of no follow-up, they made further enquires about the state of the case. They were then told the all familiar story: the docket was lost.

After angry words were exchanged with the police, the uncle and the neighbour decided to lay a new charge. But then the girl turned against them. She refused to lay the charge anew, stating that she would rather forget about the incident and get on with her life. The mother stood by her, telling the neighbour and the uncle to let sleeping dogs lie. No amount of persuasion would move them.

The alleged rapist is still walking the streets with a bounce in his step and a knowing look on his face.

As for the girl, she has continued her wayward ways.

She is still bullying her mother. An R800 cellphone that she had recently forced her mother to buy has been stolen and she is now demanding a new one. The household radio has also gone missing. And, to top it all, she has not been at school for the past week and a half.

This story is one that plays out in many parts of our country, where social dysfunction has stripped so many of their dignity and value. This dysfunction has inverted authority structures and rendered many parents obsolete.

It has created a culture of impunity in which the negative elements in society know they can do as they please because the criminal justice system will not deal with them.

It will take a miracle to rescue this young girl from her path of self-destruction. By the time she closes her second decade of life, she will have had more negative experiences than most people do in their lifetimes. This is her normality.

The young man who took advantage of her and her friends has probably done it countless times to many other women and will do so well into the future.

The police who "lost" the docket are as dangerous to the society as the criminal. That the young man's family members who believe they can buy off a rape victim with R500 is a demonstration of the sickness of the society.

The saddest part of the whole case is that this 16-year-old who does not see her rape as a major violation and is prepared to live her life comfortable that a perpetrator who could have been punished will get off scot-free. It is about her value of herself and absolute loss of dignity.

In our nation's discourse we speak of the political time bomb that could explode if poverty and inequality are not dealt with speedily. Just as worrisome is the social time bomb resulting from societal norms breaking down.

The story of Wayward Girl is a snapshot of this.

Comments

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Thu Jun 20 07:44:43 SAST 2013 ::

Sep 13, 2012

Mrazane

We can get the best psychologists and social workers but things will only get worse because we are a nation that has rejected God. Hosea 4 v 6 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knoledge I also reject you, because you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your children" in verse 10 and 11 it says "they will eat but not have enough, they will engage in prostitution but not increase because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves to prostitution, to old wine and new which take away the understanding of my people".

Parents have abdicated their responsibility to teach their children good values and morals, everyone does as they please. If we turn to God and humble ourselves and repent He will heal the land.
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Sep 13, 2012

Kaylae

Amen
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Sep 13, 2012

cornelius

It is sad, but I think the girl brought a lot of it upon herself - she would in any event have found it difficult to prove that the sex was not consensual in the circumstances that prevailed and given her lifestyle. Pity the poor mother, but this girl does not appear to deserve too much sympathy.
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Sep 13, 2012

MommaC

You don't start to try and instil discipline and self respect when they are 16 years old. You start when they are 16 hours old.

You don't pimp your daughter out by accepting money from rapists. You take the hard road so that no other mother goes through the same heartache

It isn't astro-physics, it is just plain old fashioned parenting. It is also horrifying at how the community just ignores it all. This is our future generation, it is time we (every single one of us) stepped up and acted like ADULTS.
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Sep 13, 2012

masenya

AH!
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Sep 13, 2012

Coldcurry

Is this reporter Monde Makhanye Jacob Zuma's son by any chance, they sure look alike, checkout the showerhead. JZ has more kids then accounting for
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Sep 13, 2012

Uglicious

Sad indeed, what kind of society are we becoming, where a mother pleases her child by submitting to her every demand. I think some parents should attend workshops where they are taught about giving their kids tough love. As parents our duty is to make sure we support our kids by constantly guiding them and showing them the right path/way to follow by all means.
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Sep 13, 2012

Lungo

gone are those days childern use to listen and respect elders, these born free are disaster. we only need God's intervention or else our children will never live to reach 40
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Sep 13, 2012

ktzo

mo tshelle halephirimi
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Sep 13, 2012

Respect10

This s what happens when you give ur kids whatever they want( Unnecessary things), sum moms are giving their 7-10yr old cellphones so what do u think will happen when they teenagers? they will want more, let ur kids grow at church
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