The discomfort of rape

This chapter begins with a discomforting encounter while accessing post-rape care to situate the research amidst the multiple intersecting inequalities that constitute sexual violence in South Africa. Starting from a place of discomfort, the chapter introduces the affective orientation of the book. It outlines the complexities of researching rape in a context which is frequently referred to as ‘the rape capital of the world’. It traces colonial and apartheid histories of violence and oppression, the intersectional inequalities of rape culture, as well as contemporary resistance to sexual and gender-based violence to introduce the affective landscape of sexual violence.