On Friday more than 3 200 people across South Africa stepped out in silent solidarity with the survivors of sexual abuse.
Over 1 500 Rhodes students and staff, residents and local school pupils were joined for the first time this year by protesters in KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg and Cape Town taking a stand against rape.
On Friday more than 3 200 people across South Africa stepped out in silent solidarity with the survivors of sexual abuse.
Over 1 500 Rhodes students and staff, residents and local school pupils were joined for the first time this year by protesters in KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg and Cape Town taking a stand against rape.
Most RUSilent Protest participants in Grahamstown spent the majority of the day with their mouths taped shut, showing their solidarity with sexual assault survivors who are too afraid to report their assault for fear of stigma and further victimisation.
Some participants chose to wear shirts with 'Rape survivor' printed across the chest. Survivors' mouths were not taped shut however, signifying an end to the silence and fear surrounding sexual abuse.
Solomon explains what the RUSilent Protest is all about.
Protesters attended a 'die-in' over lunch, lying down together in the main admin building in silence for more than an hour.
"The die-in represents visually the scale of the deaths caused by gender-based violence," said organiser Larissa Klazinga as she addressed the crowd.
"You are becoming the visible faces and bodies of the all-too-often invisible, nameless and forgotten women who are killed by their husbands, boyfriends, partners or strangers."
The Silent Protest started at Rhodes in 2007 in support of the national 1-in-9 campaign, and was attended by only 80 people.
It is organised by the Dean of Students together with the Gender Action Project. The 1-in-9 campaign was formed to show solidarity with Fezeka Kuzwayo, the woman who brought a rape charge against President Jacob Zuma in 2006.
Another first for the RUSilent Protest this year is that male rape survivors could wear shirts identifying them as such, and men protesting in solidarity are also gagged for the day like their female counterparts.
"Originally, we wanted to create a safe space for women to speak out," said Silent Protest media liaison Michelle Solomon.
"But… power is intersectional," she explained. "Men are also affected by patriarchy, and men are obviously also rape survivors – we wanted to bring them into the fold."
She feels these survivors' stories are often suppressed, but can help to create empathy and awareness in society for the plight of rape survivors.
Despite the protest's success, however, Solomon said they still have a problem with abuse, threats and heckling from the public.
Spreading the word, in numbers
– Wits University ran out of t-shirts for their protest: they only supplied 350 for more than 1 000 protesters
– More than 400 students from the University of KZN staged their own silent protest
– More than 200 Cape Town residents held a solidarity march called RUSilent: Speak Out Cape Town
– 40 pupils from Victoria Girls' High School attended the RUSilent march of their own accord.
