Surveys allow us to capture experiences of sexual violence at any point during a child's life, including those incidents that have not been reported to authorities.
Sexual assault is another offence that falls into the broad category of sexual offences. As with rape, there are likely to be high levels of under-reporting on sexual assault, particularly if there is no visible injury.
South Africa has high levels of reported rape, but the true extent of the problem is unknown. It is widely recognised that rape and other sexual offences are substantially under-reported.
Unlike kidnapping, abduction is a crime that is specific to children. It consists of removing a child from his or her guardian's care for the specific purpose of marriage or sexual intercourse with the child.