Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fighting the stigma of acquaintal abuse









So on the 21st of August i was part of a very interesting awareness march. THE NAKED TRUTH.. which was an initiative by the Wits University, EWS and POWA. the message was clear. we were marching against abuse on campus- a somewhat silent death. many young women are raped, harassed and molested on campus and it was our time to say ENOUGH! the march had special guests by the likes of Khanyi Mbau and Rosie Motene who both have come out publicly about their own abuse experiences. it was very successful and powerful and i'm glad such an initiative was created. i find it extremely scary and ironic that the most abuse that happens actually, happens indoors- indoors of the res doms or rooms, and with people that we dont consider as strangers at all. people whom you never imagine as the first to hurt you. your boyfriend, your lover, the guy you seeing... And i find that young women are faced with a dilemma, once your boyfriend violates you, is it really abuse? YES IT IS! if a guy or a girl breaks you down and brings you down, that is abuse... it could be mental, its physical, its emotional... my wish if for the good news to spread though.. that its not something to be ashamed of, we should all speak out and speak up!





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