RAPE IS NOT RESISTANCE,
CONDEMN RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR,
BELIEVE ALL SURVIVORS.
STAND UP, SPEAK OUT!
Context
On 07 October 2023, thousands of Hamas terrorists launched a violent attack from Gaza across the southern border of Israel. They slaughtered over 1200 people, mostly civilians, injured more than 5000, and committed the most brutal, barbaric acts of violence on babies, children, women and men, which included rape, sexual assault, genital and other mutilation.
Many of these brutal atrocities were filmed by the perpetrators, who laughed their way through the carnage while broadcasting live across social media and celebrating in Gaza. In addition, they abducted 254 Israeli and foreign citizens, including women, men, children, babies, and the elderly, to be held as hostages in Gaza. Reports suggest that they are also being subjected to sexual violence by their captors.
Despite overwhelming video evidence, these crimes were met with disbelief, distortion of the facts, and outright denial by many in the international community. Where it was acknowledged that sexual violence had occurred, the extent and severity were downplayed. International human rights organisations took two months to respond and there was an eerie silence from feminist and women's rights organisations in South Africa.
As investigations progress, new information and evidence of sexual violence continue to emerge. Many of those who recognised that Hamas committed these acts of sexual violence justified them as legitimate acts of resistance. Neither denial nor justification of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) are acceptable. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court clearly defines CRSV as a distinct war crime.
In South Africa, the silence has lingered to this day. This is particularly egregious, given the frighteningly high levels of gender-based violence that plague the country. Our campaign, therefore, aims to challenge these responses, demonstrate the danger of the rhetoric underlying them, and advocate for the prosecution of the perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence.
“Silence will be remembered as a historical stain on those who chose to remain silent and deny the sexual crimes committed by Hamas.”
- Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel Executive Director Orit Sulitzeanu
Our Survey
To better understand what South Africans know, believe and feel about the rape and sexual violence perpetrated on October 7, we commissioned a national, demographically accurate survey of South Africans.
We sought to gain greater insight into why the response to these atrocities has been so muted and why there has been such widespread silence despite our living in a country plagued by such extreme levels of sexual violence. Are South Africans ignorant or apathetic, or do they believe that rape is a legitimate weapon of war despite it being outlawed under international law?
This survey is the impetus for the conversation we want to start about these critical issues, to inform people and answer their questions about what happened, to encourage people to speak up, and to voice their concerns, their heartbreak and anger. South Africa is all too familiar with a culture of silence, where the burden of proof falls on survivors, who are often not believed, making justice and accountability all but impossible
Join Our Call
We call on our sisters, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, human and women's rights organisations and activists, civil society and our government to make themselves heard and publicly condemn rape and sexual violence in South Africa, in Israel and wherever else it happens.
We call on politicians to understand the power and consequences of their words.
We will be monitoring their responses.
It is time to end the silence.
Rape is NEVER justified.
Victims are NEVER asking for it.
JUSTICE for rape victims, not justifications for rape.
Rape is NEVER justified. Victims are NEVER asking for it. JUSTICE for rape victims, not justifications for rape.
Contact
For press enquiries, to join our activities, or to receive more information about our survey results, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.