Rape Outcry: SICKENING STEINBERG

Rape Outcry’s Mission is to empower, support and raise awareness, particularly youth, that rape is unacceptable so that the attitudes and behaviours of perpetrators, potential-victims and rape survivors change to lessen the incidence of rape in our lives. We have a three-fold focus of prevention, support and rehabilitation through awareness campaigns which utilize posters, multimedia resources, psycho-educational workshops and art-therapeutic courses for men, women and children.

Letter from the CEO

Between April 2008 and March 2009, 70,514 rapes were reported in South Africa (SAPS Statistics, 2010). More than 40% of these were of children below the age of 12 years. According to SAPS, these numbers are far higher as they believe that only 1 in every 35 women report rape. These statistics do not reflect the millions of South Africans living in pain and isolation. Stigmatized and shamed.

Who has the uncommon moral courage to address the horror of sexual violence in our nation? Who will strive for a world where pleas, prayers and hopes become reality? We have. We do. We will continue to do so.

We ran our first poster-awareness campaign as a Non-Profit Organization in 2007, called No More Pussy-Footing Around, and to date we have established support groups, arts & crafts with children in informal settlements and art awareness exhibitions through, Poets & Painters in Protest (PPP). Further information on our achievements can be found inside our application.

We have developed, and are running, evaluative studies on workshops which focus on training educators and people within the helping professions who work with survivors and perpetrators. We plan to run workshops with perpetrators (Taking Stock) and children (Monster Busting) in 2011 to combat the perpetuating notoriety of our nation. At our second PPP exhibition in Dublin, Ireland on November 2, ten professional artists showed their support of our cause by displaying their work at a renowned gallery in the city. We are developing comics and interactive story books for adolescents and children to support our second poster awareness campaign, do you see?

We envision that our awareness campaigns, resources and workshops will spread to every educational institution in South Africa despite our lack of funding. Through the vehicles of Arts, Culture and Grassroots mobilization, we aim to empower the powerless, give a voice to the voiceless and break the deafening silence of this preventable pandemic.

We value the engagement of communities. Through partnership and relationship with community leaders, we aim to increase their capacity to empower their own people and identify honest, honourable change agents. Thus fostering sustainability in all spheres of life e.g. health, welfare, education, skills training etc.

Our projects for which we require funding in the next financial year is detailed in our Strategic Plan which is available on our website. Any contribution to funding our projects will be greatly appreciated.

Any questions or concerns are to be directed to info@rapeoutcry.co.za, or 0828156446.

Yours faithfully,

Jenna-Lee Procter.

RAPE OUTCRY'S CAMPAIGN

Rape Outcry aspires to running many campaigns at educational institutions throughout South Africa - and the world! The purpose of the campaigns is to raise awareness of the high prevalence of sexual abuse and its devastating affects. It is hoped that these campaigns will effect a change in behaviour and attitudes of those who interact with the posters.

In order to evaluate these campaigns, proper academic research needs to be conducted alongside the campaign to assess whether or not the campaign interventions utilized are getting through to students or not. A pilot-study was conducted at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth in 2007 in collaboration with the HIV/AIDS Unit of NMMU.

Permission to run the pilot campaign, No More Pussy-Footing Around, was successfully obtained from the NMMU Research Ethics Committee (Human) as well as various other departments at the university. During the 12 week campaign, a set of new posters were displayed on campus every week and questionnaires handed out to NMMU students to monitor their effectiveness.

The concept behind the second campaign, Do you see? was designed by Rape Outcry members, Jai and Jenna-Lee, using Lacanian philosophy and background psychology knowledge over many, many cups of midnight coffee! A professional photographer, Simon Subrosa, took our small team on a photo shoot and created powerfully poignant images that express the intimate pain and turmoil of sexual abuse.

The Do you see? Campaign was created in alliance with the HIV/AIDS Unit and a multidisciplinary steering committee consisting of nurses, psychologists, researchers, social workers and marketers. The poster campaign focusing on self-reflection has been translated into several other languages and will be run locally as well as abroad.

Message
Rape is devastating, ugly and violent and we can no longer deny this fact by keeping it hidden. We will not be shy in our attempts to wake our society up from its deep slumber. Therefore, our aim is to present sexual abuse as realistically as possible; boldly yet sensitively. We are aware that many people will disapprove of our explicit approach, but it is about time that we come to terms with the torment that it causes in so many people's lives.
Afterall, it is not the campaigns that are offensive, but rather the sexual violence they confront.

Just as important as the awareness of the violence and devastation, is the acknowledgement that healing is possible! Through creativity, Rape Outcry aims to raise awareness of the incredible inner strength and courage that survivors discover within themselves. The journey is unique for each person and no one should be forced to stick to some formulae. Too often survivors are caused even more pain after the sexual abuse as people around them pressurize them into speaking about it, reporting it or even denying its occurence and remaining quiet, or whatever others think will be best...

Healing is painful, it does feel lonely at times, it is emotional, chaotic, confusing and exhausting. This can all be expected. But, it happens - every day, in different ways survivors feel the pieces coming together because if there is one thing that Healing is not, is a 'quitter.' Even when we harden our hearts, become embittered, despondent, fearful and want to give up, Healing pursues! Healing is relentless. Do you see?

Nothing happens to anybody which S/he is not fitted by nature to bare.

Methods
Currently we are using two primary means to raise awareness:
The do you see? poster campaign which can be run over several consecutive weeks (each week a new poster is introduced) or as stand-alone posters;

Poets & Painters in Protest: art and creative writing exhibitions which centre around the do you see? posters, but also include art works and writing pieces submitted by anyone interested.

Important to note is that these ventures rely on volunteers and therefore without external support, will not take place. However, Rape Outcry will go all out to encourage students' involvement by stressing the importance of expression and ensuring that everyone will be aware of the goings-on!

Film & Documentary
Rape Outcry envisions the globalization of its campaigns, with each area of focus made available world-wide. This will be made possible through the creation of documentary and training resources DVDs which will supplement our workshops and campaigns. We have linked up with, Chris Allen, an expert in the field of film and multimedia, and Jeremy Frost, an AFDA film-graduate, to achieve this goal. The distribution of these DVDs will spread much-needed information and tools to those in dire need. The income generated through the sale of the DVDs will go to the sustainability and expansion of Rape Outcry. We would like to thank Investec Social Investment for their financial support specifically for this project.

Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul.
St Theresa of Avila

RAPE OUTCRY'S WORKSHOPS

Sensitization Workshops
We have put together a short power point presentation highlighting key facts on sexual abuse, legal considerations, what to do if you or someone you know is sexual abused and some controversial discussion questions. These are ideal for small groups of no more than 15 participants. For more information please email info@rapeoutcry.co.za

Fostering A Sexually-Violent-Free Future
Rape Outcry has created psycho-educational workshops for educators at public and private pre-primary, primary and secondary schools. The workshops will inform educators of the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse as well as sexually aggressive and conduct disorder behavior amongst children. The aim of these workshops is to empower teachers to identify, manage and refer children to other professionals. As part of the program, workshops will also be run for parents and caregivers of learners. The Department of Education has approved the workshops. Please contact Jenna-Lee if you would like more information.

Monster Busting for Abuse Reactive Children
Abuse reactive children are those who have been sexually abused and who are now acting in response to the abuse, sometimes by molesting other children. Monster Busting is a step-by-step, play therapy focused on increasing anger management, impulse control, self-esteem and mastery in the sexually reactive child. It is a child-friendly approach to identifying and addressing bad behaviour using drawing and story-telling and covers a wide-range. We have run one week-long program in April 2011 and have scheduled to run three more in the 2011 year in collaboration with Masizame Childrens Shelter in Kwanokuthula, Plettenberg Bay. If you are interested in the program, do not hesitate to contact us.

Art Therapy
Art can be a powerful form of self expression and exploration which has many benefits. Art Therapy combines traditional psychotherapies with the psychological aspects of the art making process. Through creating art and reflecting on the processes and products, people can increase awareness of self and others, cope with stress, symptoms and traumatic experiences, enhance mental functioning as well as find joy in the pleasures of making art; whether the results are aesthetically pleasing or simple scribbles!

Clinical Psychologist and Art Therapist, Dr Jane Luck, ran training workshops in Art Therapy for Rape Outcry over a 3 month period. The workshops were attended by counsellors, employees from various NGOs and artists who were interested in using art therapy with their clients or personally as self care.

The focus of the course was to gain a deeper understanding of art therapy on a personal and experiential level. Therefore, the works created were a reflection of each persons unique and invaluable contribution to the group experience.

All the attendees participated in creating group images, individual artworks, full-body images, clay works and private journaling. The result: a triumphant and dynamic journey, as a group and for the individual.

If you are interested in Rape Outcrys other art therapy projects around the greater Knysna area, please do not hesitate to contact Jenna-Lee on 082 815 6446 or via email info@rapeoutcry.co.za.

Dr Jane Luck can be contacted on 083 256 0841 or via email dr.luck@global.co.za

Counseling People who Have Survived Sexual Abuse
During Jenna-Lees internship at FAMSA in Knysna in 2010, she ran a PowerPoint workshop for FAMSAs counselors and volunteers on how to counsel and support men and women who have survived sexual abuse; as well as the legal and medical issues they need to consider when doing so. The PowerPoint Presentation will be available to people working with rape survivors for running such workshops in the future. We will explore registering the workshop with the Department of Social Development and / or the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to encourage professionals requiring Continued Professional Development (CPD) points to attend. Volunteers interested in getting involved in RO will need to attend these workshops first.

Taking Stock: Narrative & Art Therapy with Sexual Offenders
The rehabilitation of sexual offenders has been somewhat neglected as greater emphasis has been placed on punishment rather than treatment as a form of prevention of further sexual abuse. The polarization between victim and perpetrator is often over simplified. More often than not abusers have been abused themselves in the past and are thus acting-out from a broken place in their being. Therefore, we will be running narrative and art therapy workshops with prisoners at the Knysna Correctional Services. The Taking Stock program is divided into two phases. Phase I: Exploring Resources through Storytelling includes a series of workshops which require of the inmates to reflect on stories from their past which have a positive meaning for them. Phase II: Self Mastery through Art Therapy delves deeper into the motivations behind the abuse and the management & arrest of their sexually aggressive behaviours. It is limited to 6 inmates.

Jenna-Lee is currently doing her Masters in Psychology by Dissertation based on the development of the Taking Stock program at Knysna Correctional Services. Her supervisors are Dr. Diane Elkonin of the Department of Psychology and Dr. Jill Von Der Marwitz of the HIV/AIDS Unit.

WE PROVIDE SUPPORT!!

In addition to raising awareness, Rape Outcry also believes in the importance of supporting survivors of sexual abuse. We realize how incredibly difficult it is to not only accept the sexual abuse experienced, but even more so to acknowledge that the sexual abuse really did affect you and that you need help. Asking for help is the beginning of the journey from victim to survivor. Every person is unique and therefore every persons recovery is unique theres no blue print to healing! This is why Rape Outcry offers a number of support services to cater for these differences. These include support groups, our online forum, helpful reading material and referrals.

You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations in your own mind as to what you cannot do. Don't think you cannot. Think you can.
Darwin Kingsley

Counselling: Greater Knysna Area
Rape Outcry's CEO, Jenna-Lee Procter, provides counselling for children (10 years and older) and adults in the Knysna area. She works closely with other NGOs, including FAMSA Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, Child Welfare Knysna, Masizame Children's Shelter, MAD about ART and Born in Africa. Jenna-Lee is trained as a Registered Counsellor (psychology) in trauma counselling and art therapy and is currently being supervised by Clinical Psychologist, Ute Robbertze. Jenna-Lee can be contacted on 0828156446 or info@rapeoutcry.co.za* to schedule appointments. A fee based on your income is charged for each session. If you cannot pay the full amount, a reduced amount can be agreed upon.

*Disclaimer: When you use e-mail to communicate with Rape Outcry, please do not assume immediate responses. Your email will normally be checked on the official working days after it is sent. You should understand that email exchange is NOT an adequate substitute for contacting counsellors and / or other professionals in cases of emergency. If you have some urgent needs, you can call Life Line's crisis number: Stop Gender Violence: 0800 150 150 | AIDS Helpline: 0800 012 322 | Child LIne: 0800 055 555.

Support Groups
Support groups for both men and women through which they safely share their hearts with others who have had similar experiences. The groups are open, yet strictly confidential, and provide the members with a place of safety and empathy. Please contact us if you are interested in joining one of these or would like support from us in starting your own.

A survivor's group healing and growth course has been running in Knysna for the past few months. It is based on Laura Davies and Ellen Bass' The Courage to Heal. Unfortunately, it is a closed group and so no new members can join. Another will be started, so for more information, please contact Jenna-Lee on 0828156446 or info@rapeoutcry.co.za

Online Forum
An internet forum through which anyone can register to participate in discussions, seek expert advice and find support. Like the support groups, the forum also provides an opportunity for members to help one another and share in each others healing journeys. Participation in the forum is done anonymously under a pseudonym of ones own choosing. If you do not wish to post your question on the Forum, then feel free to email us directly at info@rapeoutcry.co.za.

Reading
Our Library (see link above to Main Website) page contains an extensive collection on academic journal articles on sexual abuse for anyone interested in research or to learn more. It is also possible to buy or take out books from Rape Outcrys bookshop and growing library. The books predominantly consist of survivors stories or informational / self-help which foster healing and understanding of sexual abuse.

Referral
Rape Outcry is constantly expanding our database of organizations, counselors, and other support services to refer anyone to who requests it via email or otherwise. See also our Links page which contains a list of websites which may be useful.

COLOUR MY WORLD

Colour my World is Rape Outcrys outreach project through which we supported Sinakho Daycare Centre in Walmer Township. Sinakho, a safe-place for young children, was started by Noluthando a local mother from the community who lost a child. It now falls under the auspices of Zanethemba, a non-profit organization based in Port Elizabeth.

If you would still like to volunteer or support Sinakho Day Care in any way, please contact Gerd de Nood from Zanethemba. His email address is mail@zanethemba.org.za and phone number, 083 601 3388.

Rape Outcry had two teams of volunteers who did arts and crafts with the children every Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. We have also assisted Noluthando with starting a vegetable garden and with the Industrial Psychology Society of NMMU ran a fundraiser for the creche.

We are currently running Art & Narrative Workshops at MAD about ART in Dam se Bos, Nekkies Township just outside of Knysna. Children have been identified and referred for counseling and support through Colour my World.

If you are interested to volunteer or contribute in anyway, please email us at info@rapeoutcry.co.za

Thursday, July 30, 2009

SICKENING STEINBERG

The Daily Dispatch newspaper in East London, South Africa, ran the most sickening "article" by Jonny Steinberg regarding sex and South African politics on Saturday 23 May. Steinberg is conveniently situated in New York - far away from the reality that women in South Africa have to face on a daily basis.

Steinberg's essay is completely degrading to women. There is a viewpoint among certain men that sex is their prerogative - sex on demand with whomever, wherever. The fact that this is called "rape" by the women and children who suffer the forced attention, is brushed off, ignored, disregarded. Women are still seen as chattels to be used and thrown away. This is the core of the South African issue.

Lisa Vetten, of the Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre, said that at the ANC’s general meeting at Polokwane in 2007, there was no discussion on violence against women. Worse still, the Department of Justice declared a moratorium on the roll-out of sexual offences courts. Specialist units of the South African Police Service, including the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units, have been disbanded and integrated into general police stations. Highly trained people are expected to deal with more general as well as specialist cases - without vehicles, cell phones and specialist support structures.

It is no wonder then that South Africa has the highest statistics for child rape in the world - and this includes countries at war. There is no "pleasuring of women" involved. This is simple brutality and aggression - the same kind of brutality that is usually only seen in wars of genocide. And these are only the statistics that are reported. The last research done on this issue - In 1997 by the Medical Research Council research - showed that only one in nine women reported rape to the police.

South Africans may remember the first articles about the rape of babies, that sickened surgeons who had to literally try to mend the pieces of the child.

Since then, the overwhelming number of documentaries, articles and research done on the issue of rape in South Africa must have totally flown over Steinberg's head. Or perhaps that is the reason he is living in New York now?

There is no respect for the elderly - as grandmothers are raped - and no mercy for the children - who have been savaged by rape.

More than anything, this is why "sex and politics" have become such an issue in this country. "Womanising" may be glamorized by certain men, but it is certainly not glamorous for women in the middle of an Aids crisis.

Young women in this country may have been hoping for a newer, more progressive face in politics, that sees them, not merely as "window dressing" or puppets of the men who rule, but as being empowered to ensure the safety of their sisters and children.

It is surely a simple enough request that children be able to walk home from school unmolested and women return home from work without threat of attack. Why is this a continual problem in South Africa? There should be more specialized child care units and government funded daycare centres, so that women can go to work without fear that little ones left at home will be brutalized.

A journalist researching the horrors of rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - where the worst affected have been the poorest women labourers - asked some of the gangs of armed men why they did this. It was not for food and it was not for money - one impoverished labourer offered them his last savings if they would not attack his wife. He was murdered and she was raped. The gangs said that if they had a need, as men, they should be able to take and use whoever was there.

Women and children in South Africa have been treated in this same "use and throw away" manner. The result is that those who are able to afford it are on medication in private clinics. Those who cannot - and they are the majority - suffer, mourn, despair and contract HIV or Aids. As Vetten stated, sexual violence does not just affect the victim but the whole community. When abuse is not seen as a crime, rape becomes a way of life and there is no control over human behaviour.

People like Steinberg only provide a justification for men who see rape as a sexual act - as opposed to an act of aggression and violence. As Vetten points out, the Jacob Zuma rape trial sent out a very negative message about how women in rape cases are treated by the courts. The woman in this case was publicly humiliated and beaten down by the defense team. What is the point of politicians putting on a show with "16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women" if there is no effective change?

Women in South Africa should be able to date and flirt and be as "sexy" as women in other parts of the world. But they are not allowed to. Young women wearing mini-skirts at a taxi rank in South Africa had their skirts ripped off and they were raped. Too many judges have talked about mitigating factors in rape cases being issues of clothing and whether girls were old enough to have consented (this in the case of a ten-year old!)

If a country is judged by the security of its most vulnerable citizen - a child - then South Africa is condemned by the sheer numbers of its victims. But worse than those who attack and brutalize are those who sit in ivory towers and attempt vindication with sloppy irony and extremely poor metaphors.

Yours sincerely

INGELA RICHARDSON

RAPE OUTCRY LINKS