Thirteen years on, businesswoman rape survivor, activist, and author Andy Kawa, continues to empower other women while she seeks justice for her Gqeberha beachfront attack.
While speaking via live stream to guests at a panel discussion regarding Gender-based violence hosted in association with BLC Attorneys, NMMM Constituency for Special Services and MBDA, Kawa was candid saying that her trauma was ongoing.
“It is now the thirteenth year and closure is still not in sight,” said Kawa sharing her desire for time frames to be implemented for cases like hers in order to minimise the trauma involved and offer victims the chance to, “heal and move on”.
Abducted and gang-raped for 15 hours in the sand dune bushes while taking a stroll on the popular Kings Beach, Kawa found herself repeatedly let down by the legal system.
Although her attackers were never caught, Kawa successfully sued the police for failing to properly investigate the attack. The officers on her case were found to be “grossly negligent”, however, the police appealed and won leaving Kawa having to go back to court and relive the ordeal and feel attacked and traumatised yet again.
“I do not believe I will truly find closure until there is a resolution to the damages case,” she said speaking about her ongoing legal battles.
Kawa wrote the book, Kwanele, Enough, about her battle with the South African Police Service to get justice for women.
Addressing guests via live stream at the PE Clubhouse she highlighted that sexual assault and gender-based violence were not a single, once-off incident.
“It changes your life, your self-worth, your mental health.
“This happened to me when I was 48, I can not regain that time in terms of business opportunities I could have had or the success I could have had in my career.”
“You can imagine how terrible and devastating it is for students who have to leave their studies because they are afraid of their perpetrators, who become depressed and possibly suffer from a post-traumatic stress disorder and are then never able to fully recover and fully live up to their potential.
“When children are molested the whole trajectory of their lives is changed in a negative way,” said Kawa who believes that the trauma is shared by families who often have to step in as caregivers, as support systems and have their own lives changed.
As an advocate against gender-based violence, Kawa spoke on the trauma attached to cases like hers, lamenting the fact that many victims of violence do not even get their chance to speak up in court.
“There is still a lot to be done in the fight against GBV, we need to look at ways recalibrate and work towards a South Africa that is free from gender-based violence,” she said saying that more care needs to be taken with young children especially boys because often dysfunctional beliefs around sexual violence come from childhood trauma.
Kawa called on the government to ensure that the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Judiciary bring perpetrators of Gender Based Violence to book.
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