YOU’s #strongertogether campaign
This week YOU launches a campaign to fight the scourge of rape and violence against women
UYINENE Mrwetyana. Janika Mallo. Lynette Volschenk. Leighandre Jegels. Jesse Hess. Their names have become ingrained in our minds in recent weeks. Their stories are painful to read, difficult to process and impossible to understand.
Janika’s half-naked body was found in her grandmother’s backyard. She’d been raped, bashed with a concrete block over the head and left to bleed to death. She was just 14.
Lynette was murdered in her flat, allegedly by a neighbour. Her body was sawn into pieces and dumped in black bags.
Leighandre was shot in cold blood by her estranged police officer boyfriend.
Jesse was murdered in the home she shared with her 85-year-old grandfather. Police suspect she was raped.
As news of each case broke, South Africans became increasingly horrified, and 19-year-old Uyinene’s death seemed to be the final straw.
The University of Cape Town student was raped and bludgeoned to death with a scale in a Post Office, allegedly by an employee.
South Africans took to social media to express their anger and recount how they’d been abused and thousands marched to protest against the violence.
The hashtags #AmINext, #ShutSA Down and #EnoughIsEnough trended in record-breaking numbers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, after days of protests, finally committed to reviewing the laws on sexual offenses to prioritise the needs of survivors.
He promised government would make the National Register of Sexual Offenders public. He also said crimes against women and children would result in harsher sentences and the state would oppose bail for perpetrators of violence against women and children and that they’d be imprisoned for life.
BUT much more has to be done on the ground and we want to do our part too. This week YOU, along with sister titles Move! and DRUM, launches an ongoing campaign called #StrongerTogether.
We’ll tell the moving stories of rape and domestic violence survivors in our magazines and on our websites and social platforms, and highlight the work of those working to help support women in need.
We’ll seek answers to questions many women silently grapple with, such as how to deal with a perpetrator in your home, how to identify a potential abuser and where to go if the police can’t help you. We’ll also look at ways to raise boys to respect women and what you, as an individual, can do to make a difference in the fight against this scourge, among other things.
And we’ll showcase organisations and individuals making a difference in the war against violence against women and children. They often work tirelessly with little financial backing and could use all the help they can get.
If you know of anyone we should feature on our media platforms, send their details and a bit about them to news@you.co.za with the subject line #StrongerTogether.