Nearing the end of February, we have a lot to reflect on, chew on and (eventually) spit out. Both the State of the Nation Address (SONA) by our President, Jacob Zuma, as well as the Budget Speech by Pravin Gordhan, our Minister of Finance, left a bitter taste in my mouth. During SONA, our country’s […]
My name is Nomnqweno Nomxhego-Gqada and I’m 35 years old. I obtained my Bachelor of Social Work at the University of the Western Cape. I’m a humble, goal-oriented and very persistent person. When I was 18 years old, I joined Rape Crisis as a counselling volunteer. Back then my interest was stirred by the lack of […]
Dear supporter, Rape Crisis has a dream of a world where women feel safe and are free from sexual violence – a world in fact where everyone is of free from rape. This year you helped us train the volunteer counsellors who are there to offer support and empowerment to anyone traumatised by rape. You […]
I am a middle-class, white, cis-gender woman who is perceived to be heterosexual. Because of this I am protected in many ways from the hate and violence that is levelled against poor, black queer people like Noluvo Swelindawo, who was kidnapped from her house in Driftsands and murdered because she is a lesbian. I am […]
I know you know all about the Rape Survivors’ Justice Campaign, because you’ve liked them on Facebook and you’re following them on Instagram and Twitter. Just to recap, it’s a project started to hold the government accountable to its promise of more sexual offences courts. On Friday 25th November, myself, three other students along with a […]
It’s also the story of one of our country’s specialist sexual offences courts and how this court helped her do it. Walking home from a friend’s house one Sunday afternoon nineteen year old Dalia realised she was going to be home later than she had told her parents. Taking a short cut through an abandoned […]
South Africa’s criminal justice system is confusing. Not because it is littered jargon about clauses and by-laws (any self-respecting Suits and The Good Wife fan can figure that out) but rather because of its vacillating treatment of those in pursuit of justice. Roughly between 4% and 8% of reported sexual violence cases ends in conviction. […]
A few days ago I wrote a blog about my experiences observing a workshop run by the WAR Campaign of Hillsong Church. Unfortunately the next two workshops we were meant to do were cancelled as we were on our way there, much to all of our disappointment. Nonetheless I returned home from the workshop we […]
Join our dynamic team of Training and Development Volunteers at our Athlone office. Applications close 20 December 2016. What is the volunteer training program? comprises an experiential training course and probation period the experiential training course is facilitated by experienced Rape Crisis Trainers over approximately 3 months the training course is divided into 3 sections […]
Many rape survivors silence themselves. They feel such a confusing mixture of shame and guilt about what has happened to them that they struggle to speak about it. They wonder if they could have done anything to prevent it and feel vulnerable at the thought of other people knowing about it. Counselling gives rape survivors […]