A New-York based activist alleged that she was raped in a youth hostel in South Africa while on her ‘Stop Rape. Educate’ campaign.
Minutes after the incident, she live-blogged it in an Instagram post. Narrating the details, she said she “kissed him once” and agreed to “take a shower” with him but he forced himself on her.
The 27-year-old posted a picture of herself crying in the shower with harrowing description.
Narrating the sequence of events, the activist said she had been sick for two days and was in desperate need of a hot water shower because her place of residence only provided cold water. The man, with whom she had met before, invited her and she agreed. Later he “forced me to my knees,” she writes. “I said ‘stop’ but he just got more violent,” she added.
The activist went on with her campaign with the feeling of “shame, disgust, suffering.” “I’m here, alone, and any DNA has been wiped away in the shower. The South African police will just roll their eyes when I walk in. Feel sicker than ever now.”
Explaining why she posted the picture on social media, the activist told Marie Claire UK, “Here I was, telling survivors every single day that they should speak up… I knew I had to practice what I preached, so the first thing I did was take a picture and write a post, describing what had happened.”
A lot of people on social media asked her various question pertaining to the incident. “Why would you not call the cops,” asked one to which she answered. “Reporting rape is almost as traumatic as the rape itself. You are constantly reliving it, the doctor inserts objects inside of you for the rape kit, and then you’re subject to victim-blaming comments and questions.
These are only a few reasons why many stay silent and I understand every single reason from the bottom of my heart.”
“Why would go into a shower with him,” asked another and she responded that agreeing for shower does not mean agreeing for sex.
Later, she posted a picture of herself in a hospital with a rape kit and announced that she had reported the crime. “The US Embassy and the South African police are super supportive and he may be arrested as soon as this week,” she wrote.
