Zuma addresses rape in State of Nation speech

South African President Jacob Zuma has used his annual state of the nation address to call for "unity in action" to end the scourge of rape, which plagues the country.

"The brutality and cruelty meted out to defenceless women is unacceptable and has no place in our country," Zuma told parliament on Thursday, just days after the rape and disembowelment of a 17-year-old girl shocked the nation.

The teenager was found at a construction site after her attackers reportedly slit open her stomach, took out her intestines and broke her legs.

Booysen was buried at the weekend after dying in hospital. Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral.

A sober Zuma said he had instructed law enforcement agencies to treat these cases with the "utmost urgency and importance."

"Such acts will not be tolerated."

Around 65,000 sexual offences were committed in South Africa last year, according to official figures.

But police estimate only one in 36 rape cases is reported. Activists complain that only a fraction of reported cases result in sentencing.

Zuma said that conviction rates were improving, with family violence, child protection and sexual offences units securing 363 life sentences in the last financial year and a conviction rate of over 70 percent.

source:www.aljazeera.com