South Africa ranks among the top twenty most dangerous countries in the world for violent crime and murder rates. And this has been proven true over the last 48 hours as the country has been shaken by two brutal cases of rape.

Child Raped In Pretoria

A seven year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 20-year old in the rest room of a family restaurant in the city of Pretoria. The girl had gone to the washroom when the assailant grabbed her and raped her in the men's restroom, according to local media reports.

Her mother alerted customers at the restaurant after hearing voices from the bathroom when she went looking for her daughter, according to the report. She pushed open the door to the toilet to find her daughter bleeding inside.

The suspect was arrested at the scene and charged with rape and possessing drugs.

Fake Doctor Rapes New Mother

South Africa has one of the highest numbers of rape cases in the world. Another case of rape has drawn protests in South Africa. According to estimates released in June by the national statistical service of South Africa, 138 out of every 100,000 women in the country were raped in 2016 and 2017.

A 17-year old girl who had given birth at the Life St Mary's Private Hospital in Eastern Cape province was raped by a man posing as a doctor.

According to reports, a day after her operation a man posing as a doctor came near her bed and asked her how she was feeling. She assumed he was the doctor and she told him she had a problem of excessive bleeding. The man said he was going to check but instead forced himself on her. The alarm was raised, and he was arrested in the hospital shortly after the attack.

South African women angered by the incident have taken to social media to ask the government to increase sentences for rape and other forms of sexual crime.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 27, 2018 05:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).