CAMPUS NEWS
NWU Vaal to stand in solidarity
against rape culture
A
Annette Willemse
Members of the Vaal Campus community will take to the street on 13
August 2014 in support of the Silent
Protest campaign.
It is however not only women that
fall prey to sexual violence and it is
estimated that 1 in every 6 men
will suffer the same fate.
The primary purpose of the Silent
Protest campaign is to highlight and
challenge the attitudes and practices which contribute to a culture of
silence around sexual violence
in South Africa. It is also
aimed at creating
awareness
about
sexual
abuse
and the
support
services
available
to victims.
On 13 August
members of the
Campus community
will walk through the
Campus in silence –
some will even use black
duct tape to shut their mouths,
and will be unable to speak, eat
or drink water for the duration of the
protest action. Participants are also
asked to wear purple.
According to the organisers of the
event on the Campus, the Student
Counselling and Development Department, it is hard to comprehend
the extent of the problem since it
cuts across age, race and socioeconomic class. It is estimated that
violence in intimate relationships is
such a common occurrence in South
Africa that it is normalised because,
on average, a woman is raped every
four minutes in the country. In fact,
Interpol named South Africa as the
world’s rape capital in 2013 by stating that women were more likely to
be raped than educated.
10 - Student 24/7
“By taking part
in the campaign
we aim to unite the
survivors, victims and
supporters to protest against the
silence of sexual abuse,” explains
Dr Saneth Dreyer and adds that
most survivors choose silence or are
silenced when they try to speak up.
Some survivors are silenced by fear
of the perpetrator; may are afraid of
not being believed, of being blamed
and shunned, of being interrogated,
traumatised, labelled or pitied.
What happens on the day of the
Silent Protest?
Participants will gather in front of
Building 12 from where they will
march to the river bank (Big Lapa).
Various speakers will then contribute towards the day’s programme,
including:
•
•
•
•
Maggie Matsaneng(Student
Counselling and Development);
Prem Coopoo (Dean of Students);
Dr Hayley Walker-Williams
(School of Behavioural Sciences) and
Dr Saneth Dreyer (Student
Counselling and Development).
During the event special tribute will
be paid to victims and survivors.
Register now!
Staff and students are requested
to register for the event and will be
able to do so from 21 July to 12
August 2014.
Registration takes place at Building
13, SL 331.