The number of Zimbabweans being sexually assaulted along the border keeps increasing, Medecins Sans Frontires (MSF) said during the past week. According to an MSF nurse, Mashudu Nelufule, statistics indicate that the sexual assault cases on border jumpers have increased by a third compared to last year. "From March 1 to May 1, the number of cases treated was 71 and this means about 20 people were raped a month, an increase from an average of 15 the previous year,” Nelufule said. The majority of the victims are female border jumpers. “Of these victims, 45 were female and 26 were male. Fifteen of these were children, but this is just the tip of the iceberg as many more cases go unreported," he added. Those treated by doctors had all indicated that they knew of many more victims who were attacked, but did not seek treatment. MSF said that police were not opening cases of sexual assault, because they claimed the attacks were happening on the Zimbabwean side of the border and that the victims did not stay in Musina long enough for follow-up investigations. "It looks like nothing has been done to avert that situation. It’s well-known, but it´s not recognized," said MSF local director Mickaele Paih. According to the head of the MSF mission at the border, about 300 Zimbabweans arrive in South Africa per day to apply for asylum at Musina. Le Paih said that many of the migrants entered South Africa through undesignated entry points in bushy areas along the Limpopo River where organized criminal syndicates operate from. “While the DHA promised a year ago to create a special dispensation permit to ease the process for migrants crossing the border, this has never been implemented,” he said.