The survey, published in BioMed Central’s International Journal for Equity in Health, was carried out in 1,200 schools across South Africa. It asked 127,000 boys aged between 10 and 19 if they had ever been sexually abused and, if so, by whom.
Forty-four percent of the 18-year-olds said they had been forced to have sex in their lives and half reported consensual sex.
About a third said they had been abused by males, 41 percent by females and 27 percent said they had been raped by both males and females.
The study found abuse by fellow males was more common in rural areas, while attacks by women happened mainly in cities. There was also a big disparity between provinces, with Limpopo, among the poorest, showing the highest abuse rates and Western Cape the lowest.