16 Days? Yeah Right!

Tomorrow the 16 Days of Activism Campaign for NO Violence and Abuse Against Women and Children will end…yet when a woman bravely steps forward and speaks out against a man who exposed himself to her in public. Shares the image of the stranger, to make mother’s aware of the possible threat in a space where many parents take their children for picnics, bike rides and walk their dogs…and then upon wanting to make a statement at a South African Police Station is turned away due to LOADSHEDDING and is confronted for “exposing” the stranger by sharing his image…

I am angered and so very disappointed, because the minute the identity of a sex offender is known, there is this cry out “No, it can’t be”, “Not him”, “She must be wrong”, etc. without giving any thought of just how much COURAGE it takes of a woman to come forward and be heard when it comes to sexual offences!

The focus then shifts to the perpetrators family, which we can understand, we empathise, BUT where is the support for this woman, who had the presence of mind to not let him get away! Thankfully so, because it turns out that he is an Educator, parents entrust him with their children on a daily basis!!

LET IT BE KNOWN THAT A WOMAN DOES NOT HAVE TO BE TOUCHED TO BE VIOLATED!

We can only hope that justice will prevail and SAPS and the Education Department will do their job, we can only hope that this man will never again be allowed to work with children…

Chantelle Visser, you are one brave woman. I am sure that you never expected for this incident to get all this attention that it deserves, and rightfully so. Be strong, be brave, many will judge you, many will drag your name through the mud, BUT know that SPM has your back no matter what the outcome is.

My thoughts are with his family, I cannot begin to imagine what they must be going through right now!

LET IT BE KNOWN THAT A WOMAN DOES NOT HAVE TO BE TOUCHED TO BE VIOLATED!