Black and White: The 'Perils of Sex' in Colonial Zimbabwe

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Periodical article

Title:	Black and White: The 'Perils of Sex' in Colonial Zimbabwe
Author:	Pape, John
Year:	1990
Periodical:	Journal of Southern African Studies
Volume:	16
Issue:	4
Period:	December
Pages:	699-720
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Zimbabwe Great Britain
Subjects:	colonialism sexual offences Ethnic and Race Relations History and Exploration Women's Issues
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637043
Abstract:	'Black peril', incidents of alleged sexual violence by black men against white women, was at times a fully hysterical obsession amongst the white population of colonial Zimbabwe, while 'white peril', sexual abuse of black women by white men, was far more frequent. This article describes the history of the 'black peril', which became a public issue in settler Rhodesia after 1902, and its repercussions, and of the 'white peril', which began to receive official attention after 1912. It also describes the response of white women to the 'perils', notably their campaign against the 1916 Ordinance, which extended the areas of punishment for black men and white women, excluding any sanction against white men. The campaign was joined by several women's organizations. White men, however, remained untouched by penal sanctions of immorality legislation throughout the colonial period. The main reason for the differing official response to the 'black' and 'white perils' was the nature of race, class and gender relations in the colony. Notes, ref., sum.