Women at Rhodes Strip to Protest Sexual Violence on Campus
GRAHAMSTOWN – Women at Rhodes University on Tuesday led a protest against sexual violence on the campus by taking their tops off and baring their breasts. Earlier in the day women had formed a human chain after going to residences in search of alleged rapists. A list of names had been published on Sunday and was put […]
GRAHAMSTOWN – Women at Rhodes University on Tuesday led a protest against sexual violence on the campus by taking their tops off and baring their breasts.
Earlier in the day women had formed a human chain after going to residences in search of alleged rapists. A list of names had been published on Sunday and was put on Twitter under the hashtag #RUReferenceList, containing the names of 11 people.
On Sunday, a group of students reportedly handed the list of names as well as a list of demands to the university’s management.
The hashtag #nakedprotest quickly went viral. Many women stood in solidarity with the protesters, and criticised men who tweeted comments making fun of the women’s naked bodies. Many retweeted the comment, “Don’t tell me how and what to wear, tell them not to rape.”
The group apparently asked the university to review its sexual assault policy and called for sensitivity training for all staff. It also asked for rape charges to be included in the alleged perpetrators’ academic records, and called for two university prosecutors to step down, saying the “manner in which they have dealt with victims in the past has been extremely callous”.