DURING the last quarter of last year we, as a newspaper, took a decision to launch a campaign to mobilise South Africans to fight the scourge of rape.

This was in recognition of the fact that reporting on this criminality, which is no doubt important, was not enough to stop it.

The "Enough is Enough - take back your dignity"campaign has grownexponentially. Thousands of people have pledged support for it. Celebrities have joined.

We encourage all South Africans to sign the pledge. In that way we will all become role models against rape.

Our campaign is not based on a specific incident. No single rape is less or more significant than another.

All conscientious members of society should be shocked and traumatised by theviolation of a human being's body - regardless of who it is and where it happened.

But it would be useless to express our shock and then do nothing until another person is raped. We must not wait for rapists to strike.

The cruel death of 17-year-old Anene Booysen at the hands of rapists in the Overberg, Western Cape, has correctly galvanised manyconscientious citizens into launching various anti-rape campaigns around the country.

We encourage citizens to lead and participate in these campaigns consistently.

Let's declare ourselves activists fighting to protect and advance human dignity.

l On February 20 at 6.30pm, at North West University, Mahikeng, Sowetan Dialogues, in partnership with Xstrata, is hosting a public discussion: How to stop the moral decay in our society.