#EnoughIsEnough – Sign Petition to Break the Silence on Violence & Sexual Abuse in South Africa

After firsthand experience – through a close friend – of how the victims of violence and sexual abuse are let down by the system, a South African woman says #enoughisenough and has created a petition to President Zuma. In it she appeals to the President to stop talking and start acting.

“I say, on behalf of every silenced victim of violence and sexual abuse, enough is enough! Will you continue to be silent and participate in silencing the women and children of South Africa, or will you take a stand and break the silence?” says Roxy Meier in her letter to the SA Government, the President, Ministers of Women, Police and Social Development.

She also asks for all of us to take 30 seconds to sign the petition on Change.org.

Meier says South Africa is in a state of crisis with a minimum of 45,000 rapes of women and children reported per month. (This figure was shared by the Shadow Minister of Police, Dianne Kohler Barnard, and doesn’t address those rapes which go unreported.)

Meier felt compelled to create this petition after seeing for herself how the system is failing the victims of abuse.

“I have been an activist for as long as I can remember, and I am especially passionate about women’s and children’s rights,” she told SAPeople. “This article was inspired by a close family member who was abused by her father, who has still not been prosecuted. The women I speak of in the article is a close friend of mine too so it is very personal. I have been through the system, and the system is not working, that is why I am breaking the silence!”

Meier, originally from East London, has registered the petition from Tanzania because she has been living there on and off in the last couple of months (because there are more job opportunities there for her husband), but says she will never leave South Africa because “I am absolutely passionate about our country”.

Her letter states:

Dear Mr President,

I write to you as a daughter, sister, aunt, wife and a proud South African woman.

I write to you on behalf of every silenced victim of violence and sexual abuse.

You see Mr President, every abuse case which is not followed by correct procedure; every police officer who accepts a bribe of silence and every attorney, whose fees are out of reach, silence our survivors.

You held Interfaith meetings and sympathised with the families of boys who were tragically and violently taken from this world. I thank you for this … but what about the rest of the tragedies, the stories which do not make the front page or International headlines? What about the cases which are not reported because people do not have faith in the justice system

What about the little girl who is abused by her paedophile father who escapes prosecution and walks free to harm other children? What about the woman who is gang raped, while taking a walk on the beach, and then subjected to inefficient police investigation and drawn out court cases ultimately, only to see justice not being served? What about our constitution and the right to feel safe?

Many women and children are lost in this failing system, the system of a government who seems uncommitted to protecting the most vulnerable in our society. Mr President, we are losing the women and children of South Africa!

I want to live in a country where I do not become a part of the national statistic of one in every three women being raped. I want to be heard and counted. I want to be confident that when I report a crime, the dockets will not mysteriously disappear, and the suspect will be arrested, tried and convicted if found guilty. I want to feel confident that the state has the capacity to protect the best interests of every South African child and I want to be sure that all state employees have been appointed on merit, thereby ensuring their capability of fulfilling their job description.

A minimum of 45,000 women and child rapes are being reported in our country monthly. This does not address those going unreported. South Africa is in a state of crisis! I therefore appeal to you. Break the silence of the women and children of South Africa.

I ask that you:

1. Address the issue of incompetence within the South African Police Service by ensuring they are fit and proper for their role. Provide adequate training and implement accountability measures.
2. Consider the Bill of Human Rights and ensure that every employee within the state judicial sector does so too. Consider the basic right to safety and address the issue of noncompliance within this regard. Implement a strategy whereby the almost non-existent conviction rate of paedophiles and rapists increases. As it stands today there is absolutely no deterrent for perpetrators.
3. Address the issue of the National Sex Offender Registry and ensure that it is utilised as was intended.
4. Instigate change. Spearhead a changed and improved attitude toward the protection and safety of South Africa’s most vulnerable.

Mr. President. Anyone can talk but it is no longer about what you say. It is only by taking action that things will change. I say, on behalf of every silenced victim of violence and sexual abuse, enough is enough! Will you continue to be silent and participate in silencing the women and children of South Africa, or will you take a stand and break the silence?

You can SIGN THE PETITION by clicking here (or paste the url below):

http://www.change.org/p/break-the-silence-save-our-women-and-children

Thanks!

Roxy Meier