Making Change Archives - Page 5 of 6

When the political becomes personal

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

Burlesque

Making Change

I found out via a phone call from Anne Mayne that Rape Crisis was benefiting from a burlesque revue (and did in fact receive around R36,000 if memory serves). My initial reaction was disbelief and then a sort of creeping horror. I simply could not understand that what I felt was the objectification of women’s bodies and sexuality could be used to raise funds for an organisation like Rape Crisis, founded by a radical feminist and sustained through the first really tough seven years by radical feminists, with a feminist analysis of rape as a tool of the patriarchy. Surely it should be obvious, I thought, that women stripping themselves of their clothes for entertainment was the very antithesis of feminism?

This was a gut reaction−I had heard of burlesque but had no real idea about it beyond an instinctive aversion.

But, no, I was told, these women feel empowered; they are reclaiming their sensuality; some of them are rape survivors and this is an expression of their healing; it’s very tastefully done; the only men in the audience where there by specific invitation and all the performers and technical staff were women.

12th September 2016/by Sino

Fifty Shades of Feminism: A Response

Making Change

A response to the Fifty Shades of Feminism post.

To begin, the title of the blog post has my feminist blood boiling. Yes, the populist book had a catchy title, but inside the cover on the pages was the antithesis of strength or did it have very little to do with ‘the personal is political’ motto of the feminist movement. Read the Sexual Life of Catherine M, now that is an honest vulnerable sex empowered tale.

To the focus of the article, which in a simple reduced summery is about what feminists accept as what a feminist should look like, the waves of what appearances have meant and when and why. In my blatant gut reaction, the fact that it is even up for debate is against what I have been taught is a feminist. Feminists are a rainbow, women, lesbians, working moms, stay at home moms, stay at home moms who are lesbians, men who are supportive of women, anyone who has the appreciation and commitment to fight for any individual who does not feel part of the status quo. Feminism is the concept that humans have the right to have power and be empowered, regardless of their lifestyle choices. (Obviously without the intention to harm others.)

9th September 2016/by Sino

Fifty Shades of Feminism

Making Change

This photograph from the Rio Olympics sparked debate quickly followed by a storm of outrage and an even hotter debate when France went on to ban the burqa.

Feminists were at odds about what this means for women, for religion and for our freedoms. Not all Muslim women oppose wearing the burqa but feminists see it as yet another oppressive rule imposed on women by men. Yet even they are not certain that a ban is the answer since empowering women must involve respecting their religious and cultural traditions.

There is no question that what constitutes a feminist approach to issues is debated, and sometimes heatedly, within groups of people who all claim, and rightly so, to be feminist.

One such debate has arisen within Rape Crisis, after the organisation accepted money from a burlesque dance company called The Rouge Revue, which involves women dancing, wearing sexy clothes and almost but not quite going naked. The younger feminists in the organisation participate and feel it to be empowering and many of the dancers are rape survivors who use this dance form to explore their own sensuality and reclaim their pleasure in their own bodies and some of the dancers are gender non-conforming. Some older feminists think that this is completely mad because radical feminists do not dress up as male fantasy sex objects and perform titillating routines.

7th September 2016/by Sino

Why we want better justice

Making Change

Rape statistics in South Africa are as high as ever. If we bear in mind that less than 1 in every 9 rapes is reported, we can see from official statistics that almost 500 000 people were raped in South Africa in 2015. That is half a million people, which amounts to one percent of our total population.

Day4no4

In 2014, the Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust went door-to-door to speak to people in the Athlone community. More than 50 percent of the people that we interviewed said that rape is a problem in their community.

The next year, in 2015, we did the same survey in Khayelitsha. Here 59 percent of the community members that we spoke to said that rape is a problem in their community. An average of 57 percent of people that we spoke to said that they feel absolutely unsafe in their community. We spoke to hundreds of people in our survey and hundreds of them said that it is a problem. It is real, it happens and it affects us. Our survey gave life to the statistics.

4th August 2016/by Sino

Showing rape survivors how much we all care on Mandela Day

Making Change

“‘Palace politics’ would have us believing that we all hate one another but it isn’t true. South Africans are incredibly kind to one another. We actually care a lot about one another.” Marianne Thamm made this remark as encouragement to a writing group a few days ago and it struck such a chord with me. Few things show how kind we are and how much we care about one another as much as Mandela Day does.

Pic: Alexa Sedgwick

The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, a year after the Nelson Mandela Foundation invited the global community to join them in support of an official Mandela Day. Mandela Day is not meant as a public holiday but as a day to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela and his values through volunteering and community service. It is a global call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world and the ability to make an impact. The Mandela Day campaign message is: “Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We’re asking you to start with 67 minutes.”

22nd July 2016/by Sino

What is a TCC?

Making Change

Celebrating five years of Rape Crisis counsellors working at the Karl Bremer TCC. Rape Crisis counsellors are currently working at Heideveld and Karl Bremer Hospital, as well as the Forensic Unit at the Victoria Hospital in Wynberg.

What is a Thuthuzela Care Centre?

Thuthuzela Care Centres, or TCCs, are one-stop facilities for rape survivors. They are unique in that they offer all services (counselling, physical exams, and law enforcement) under one roof. This makes it logistically easier for survivors to report a rape, and helps to lessen the amount of secondary trauma a survivor experiences. If it weren’t for these centres, survivors would have to go to a hospital, police station, and counselling centre all on their own; repeating their story each time.

What can you expect when you walk into a TCC?

The TCC’s first priority is you. They want to make you as comfortable as possible. It should be noted that the process is flexible, and can be tailored to you. If you do not want to file a case, you are under no obligation to do so. The Centre will keep all evidence for three months. You can wait and decide later whether you want to file a case or not.

30th June 2016/by Sino

Save The Date: Care Packs For Mandela Day!

Making Change

Will you lend us your hands, and give your 67 minutes for Mandela Day?

At all four of Cape Town’s forensic units which attend to anyone who has just been raped, Rape Crisis is there to support the survivor reporting the offence.

After counselling, opening a criminal case docket, and undergoing a forensic full body examination to collect critical evidence, the survivor is given the opportunity to have a shower, and will receive one of our Care Packs containing toiletries and appropriate personal items.

On Saturday 16 July we need your hands to help assemble these Care Packs. The bags and the contents are at the ready, just needing to be put together. How better to celebrate the spirit of Mandela Day, by giving your 67 minutes (or more) to support rape survivors?

22nd June 2016/by Sino

Rape Crisis Newsletter May 2016

Making Change

2016 celebrates 40 years of supporting rape survivors

Because I’ve been here for 20 of those 40 years, I can’t let the occasion go by without offering thanks to those that helped us get here.

Thanks to those who founded this organisation, and all our previous directors. Thanks to past and present members of staff, for whom working at Rape Crisis is not just a job, but a part of them. Thanks to our volunteers – all of whom come from the communities we serve – and who are the cornerstone of our organisation. Thanks to our Trustees, past and present, who have careers of their own but give unstintingly of themselves, their time and their expertise. Thanks to those men and women who were courageous enough to seek our support in reaching out for personal healing; and to those who embarked on the difficult process of bringing the perpetrators to justice.

And thanks to you – for being an individual who empowers Rape Crisis with your donations, for being an advocate and spreading the word, for being our partner behind the scenes – a role which is as vital to our work as any other. Your support allows Rape Crisis to grow.

3rd May 2016/by Sino

An arrest is only the first step towards a successful rape conviction

Making Change

If you are a woman in Cape Town you must feel very vulnerable. The recent spate of rapes and rape homicides that have struck at the heart of several quite diverse communities shows that there is no place safer for women than any other. You could be running in the Tokai forest, or close to your university, or going to the toilet in the middle of the night and someone might rape you. These recent examples in the media have made women more afraid than ever.

Yet in each of these three cases a suspect has been apprehended and is now in jail. So we are all safe again, right? The bad guys are locked up and the community is protected.

But of course this is not the end of the road either for the rapists or for the community. The pathway through the criminal justice system in these cases can be a long and winding road, from the forensic examination and analysis, to the arrest, to the investigation, to the trial. Where once again the community will need to get involved. What about those that will have to testify in court against the accused? The women in the community that gave them up, the men that witnessed something of what took place and who must now ensure through their evidence that the accused are not only locked up in the short term but are found guilty and sentenced to an appropriately longer imprisonment. How vulnerable will these witnesses feel as they take the stand, perhaps brushing past the accused as they take their place, making eye contact, speaking up, accusing? How safe will they feel then? What about their families? What about the rape survivor who must speak about deeply traumatic events under the gaze of the very person that traumatised her?

Rape Crisis provides court support in five Cape Town courts. Photo: Alexa Sedgwick

15th April 2016/by Sino