Teenage girl charged with murder after killing man who allegedly tried to rape her

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/teenage-girl-murder-17-kill-man-rape-her-south-africa-sexual-assault-a7788081.html

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A teenager has been charged with murder after killing a man who allegedly tried to rape her. 

The 17-year-old allegedly stabbed the 21-year-old man after overpowering him during a struggle between the two in South Africa. 

As she is considered a minor under South African law she cannot be named, but she appeared in Leneyene Magistrate’s Court where she was not asked to make a plea.

She will be assigned a councillor and social worker and appeared visibly distraught when she arrived at the police station. 

"She was on her way to a local tavern when she was allegedly attacked by the deceased and fought back," police said, the BBC reported. 

The court case is set to resume on 14 June, where she is expected to say she acted in self-defence. 

Pleas of self-defence in South Africa require the defendant to ust prove there were extenuating circumstances where killing was the only option available.

The country has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world with more than 60,000 cases every year.