RAPE victims who want to break the silence by telling their stories and take the first step towards healing have started a website precisely for that purpose.
Sandi Schultz and Akona Ndungane's website is called isaidno.co.za. It allows rape survivors to share their stories and perhaps find someclosure.
Schultz, an actress best known for her role as Jennifer Adams in Binnelanders, said she was inspired to co-found the website following her rape at 28.
"I am a rape and incest survivor and I'm a very strong proponent of breaking the silence.
"It is a very healing power," she said.
She said she and Ndungane wanted the website to be a platform for women to start the process of healing.
"We have also put a list of resources where women can call for help, but we have also given them a platform to tell their stories."
Some of the women who share their stories are doing so for the first time.
"Being a survivor myself I got to the point after 12 years when I told someone," Schultz said.
She added that it was the surest way to start the process of healing.
"It's not going to happen overnight. It is not a magic button, but it is a place to start," she said.
She and Ndungane said they were very frustrated by the rape statistics in South Africa and the website was their contribution to changing the dire picture.
Schultz said she was molested by her stepfather for 12 years from the age of four to 16.
"He groomed me to believe it was my fault," she said.
"Finally I realised intellectually at 16 that nothing I did provoked this.
"Once I figured it out, I became angry and that's when I told my mom."
Her stepfather was never arrested, but the man who raped her during a house robbery was reported to the police and is behind bars.
She said her hopes for the website was for professional therapists to volunteer their services and counsel the women who submit their stories.
"My message to children is to find someone they trust and tell them what is happening."
Ndungane was not available for an interview. - nkosin@sowetan.co.za
Breaking rape silence on Web
RAPE victims who want to break the silence by telling their stories and take the first step towards healing have started a website precisely for that purpose.
Sandi Schultz and Akona Ndungane's website is called isaidno.co.za. It allows rape survivors to share their stories and perhaps find someclosure.
Schultz, an actress best known for her role as Jennifer Adams in Binnelanders, said she was inspired to co-found the website following her rape at 28.
"I am a rape and incest survivor and I'm a very strong proponent of breaking the silence.
"It is a very healing power," she said.
She said she and Ndungane wanted the website to be a platform for women to start the process of healing.
"We have also put a list of resources where women can call for help, but we have also given them a platform to tell their stories."
Some of the women who share their stories are doing so for the first time.
"Being a survivor myself I got to the point after 12 years when I told someone," Schultz said.
She added that it was the surest way to start the process of healing.
"It's not going to happen overnight. It is not a magic button, but it is a place to start," she said.
She and Ndungane said they were very frustrated by the rape statistics in South Africa and the website was their contribution to changing the dire picture.
Schultz said she was molested by her stepfather for 12 years from the age of four to 16.
"He groomed me to believe it was my fault," she said.
"Finally I realised intellectually at 16 that nothing I did provoked this.
"Once I figured it out, I became angry and that's when I told my mom."
Her stepfather was never arrested, but the man who raped her during a house robbery was reported to the police and is behind bars.
She said her hopes for the website was for professional therapists to volunteer their services and counsel the women who submit their stories.
"My message to children is to find someone they trust and tell them what is happening."
Ndungane was not available for an interview. - nkosin@sowetan.co.za
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