Prague, Sept 23 (CTK) – Most people in the Czech Republic are absolutely unaware of how often women are raped in the country and what kind of men commit the crime, according to a Focus agency’s poll conducted for the Czech branch of the Amnesty International (AI) human rights watchdog.
At least 7500 women are raped in the country with 10.5 million inhabitants a year, but only 2 percent of the rapists are punished by courts, the AI writes.
Various sources estimate that 7500 to 20,000 rapes are committed in the Czech Republic every year, the AI writes.
“Nine out of ten cases of rape are not reported by the women,” said Gabriela Bartova, from the AI.
She said these women feel that nobody would deal with the case if they were raped by their acquaintance or partner.
Moreover, they often fear that other people would think it was actually their own fault, Bartova said. As a result, they contact neither the police nor experts who offer aid, she added.
The respondents usually thought that several hundreds women were raped a year and that nearly half of the rapists are punished.
A majority of the people believed that a stranger who chooses the victim randomly is the rapist in most cases. But reality is very different as only one in five rapes are committed by a stranger, the AI writes.
Almost half of the respondents believed that the victim was to blame for the rape at least partly, if she flirted, was dressed provocatively or got drunk. Many people also said a woman risked being raped if she walked alone in deserted places or if she was known for having many partners.
The view that the woman is at least partly responsible for the rape is more often held by men, people aged over 55 years and those with lower education.
Along with other NGOs, the AI launched the Stop Violence Against Women campaign in June, which points out that rape and other forms of sexual violence are widespread in the Czech Republic as well as Europe in general.
