Making Change Archives - Page 4 of 6

#MenAreTrash

When I first became aware of the #MenAreTrash hashtag it was never a stand-alone thing. The hashtag always preceded or followed a story, in less than 140 characters on Twitter, about why men are trash. Every reason for using the hashtag was real. Horrific stories of rape and abuse shared the hashtag with downright rude stories about men dissing women and girls for how they looked, dressed, spoke. One tweeter used #MenAreTrash to describe the total stranger who flooded her with unsolicited dick pics. Another posted a picture of her black eye. There was the one who addressed her harasser personally, and another who posted a thread of daily incidents of harassment she had experienced since puberty. It was a long list. Sometimes #MenAreTrash was the single word answer to a tweet that was sexist or inappropriate or ugly towards women.

When I first encountered the hashtag I had no idea how it was going to be taken up, or how much it would trend. But, more importantly, I had no idea how fierce male resistance to it would be.

9th June 2017/by Sino

Rape does not start in the bedroom

Making Change

She wants to run but has nowhere to go. She wants to scream but has no voice. She wants to cry but has no tears. She is alone. Walls. Walls. That’s all she has. Four walls surrounding her, covered in cracks and mould. No picture frames. No light. Just walls. She lies curled up on a worn-out mattress and clutches her knees to her chest. The mattress smells like him. Her stomach churns and she chooses to lie on her back. She hates his scent. She tries not to focus on the smell and instead focuses on listening. There is a faint rustling of leaves outside and the occasional humming of birds but aside from that, there is silence.

But silence on the outside does not escape her from the agonising noises inside her head. Her inner screams, cries for help, voices of desperate longing and praying that he won’t come back. Her thoughts about him come in like a cancerous invasion. Every time she tries to take control of her mind and think of something different, those thoughts come back stronger and multiply. They haunt her. They never leave her alone.

14th March 2017/by Sino

Meet our new Thuthuzela Coordinator

Making Change

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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 knowledge around the issues of gender based violence in my community, especially from young girls. This encouraged me to get involved and make them aware of the issue while also imparting knowledge of available services around Khayelitsha.

My role as the new TCC coordinator is to lead and manage the Thuthuzela Care Centres’ counselling service team to ensure delivery of high quality counselling services to rape survivors. The three sites are situated in Heideveld CHC, Victoria Hospital and Karl Bremmer Hospital.

14th February 2017/by Sino

We got through 2016 thanks to you!

Making Change

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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 helped us pack care packs for rape survivors at our annual Mandela Day event. During the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women you stood with us as our Rape Survivors’ Justice Campaign demanded specialised Sexual Offences Courts outside Athlone and Khayelitsha courts in an effort to get government to roll these courts out across the country as promised.

21st December 2016/by Sino

#HerNameWasVovo and she was a human being

Making Change

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 not sexualised and perceived as ‘deviant’ in the way that Noluvo is. My body has not being transformed by hundreds of years of exploitation into something unhuman, like hers has.

Noluvo Swelindawo. Pic: IOL

But I am not as protected as I have always thought. On the 30^th of October 2015 I was raped.

15th December 2016/by Sino

Athlone Training and Development Volunteer Applications Now Open

Making Change

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 involving Personal Growth, General section (political, social, legal, medical and psychological) and Facilitation/training skills development sections
assessment takes place throughout the training course and some participants may decide to withdraw
a probation period of 6 months after completion of the experiential training course during which time trainees will facilitate workshops, do talks and information stalls and attend buddy group meetings and focus group meetings
at this stage, the training is not SETA/SAQA accredited

T&D Volunteer, Feroza Booysen facilitating discussion on the myths and stereotypes around rape at Belgravia High. Pic: Alexa Sedgwick.

21st November 2016/by Sino

A Letter to Carol and Anne

Making Change

Dear Carol and Anne

I am one of the burlesque dancers you seem so intent on dehumanizing and invalidating.

I am also a rape survivor.

When I originally read Carol’s letter, I was hurt, she was after all, effectively telling me that my efforts to support my fellow survivors were invalid simply because our feminisms don’t align. She was telling me that her feminism is better and more valid than mine. But I made an effort to understand where Carol was coming from, her feminism, and how what she was feeling might have some validity based on her background and beliefs. Despite her very weak attempts to “research” burlesque and her complete refusal to actually engage with a single one of the dancers she was condemning, I tried not to judge. I even considered thanking her for her part in creating Rape Crisis, an organisation that I wholly support today. Even if the organisation and those who operate within it have moved on, moved forward, hers was a vital and necessary role back in her day, and I wanted to acknowledge that.

Then I read Anne’s letter.

Then I read them both again.

Now I am angry.

28th September 2016/by Sino

Trying to Build Bridges of Understanding

Making Change

Why I am unhappy about the Rape Crisis association with Burlesque shows.

It has been so difficult writing this blog, I have begun it and deleted it a number of times. As Kath Dey stated in her blog there are different forms of feminism, I want to expand on that.

I care about the women who work in Rape Crisis and I admire the achievements of the organisation. As old as I am I’m a very current, relevant type of feminist, my politics are radical feminist and this aspect of the feminist political spectrum has made a significant impact over the years on exposing the horrors of the global patriarchal culture of rape and femicide. Even in this time of backlash against feminist politics radical feminists all over the world are fighting back.

This particular analysis lead to the anger and energy that formed rape crisis organisations, battered women’s refuges, exit programs and safe houses for prostituted women attempting to escape pimps, brothels and traffickers throughout the world. Radical feminist research informs and assists with the creation of special police units, created to stop sex trafficking and rescue and rehabilitate women and girls. These liaise with each other and Interpol across continents.

27th September 2016/by Sino

September Newsletter: Latest News from Rape Crisis

Making Change

Message from Kathleen Dey

It’s time for change.

The Department of Justice needs to roll out the full number of Sexual Offences Courts as promised by the Minister of Justice in 2013. We all have to work together to hold them accountable to their promise.

To this end we launched the Rape Survivor’s Justice Campaign on 9 August 2016, National Women’s Day. For more on this campaign, please go to our website, and support us in this.

Change is also needed on other levels as well.

Rape Crisis is engaged in a constant battle to challenge rape culture and its impact on the way people behave.

27th September 2016/by Sino

When the political becomes personal

Making Change

Rape is both personal and political. It is a deeply personal violation committed by one person against another. But it is also a symptom of a social context in which inequality, disempowerment and violence continue to shape the daily experiences of millions. Within this context it becomes almost impossible to separate the personal and the political.

“It is undeniable that structural inequalities profoundly shape high rates of rape in South Africa” Pic: Shaun Swingler

I am familiar with the political context of rape. As a researcher with a particular interest in gender I have both read and conducted research which explores how particular, socially salient, versions of masculinity and femininity scaffold acts of violence, including sexual violence by men against women, children and other men. I have listened to countless songs on the radio and seen innumerable movies and adverts that position women as sexual objects. I have read frequent posts on social media which celebrate patriarchy. I have also heard numerous rape jokes.

23rd September 2016/by Sino