Durban - Rape victims and their supporters were called “sluts” by a male employee of the Msunduzi Municipality during a march against woman abuse outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Thursday.
The man’s comments enraged the group of young women, while some were in tears after being insulted by the unnamed municipality employee.
The man asked the marching women to step out of the way so he could see the maidens marching separately outside the municipal building. An 18-year-old, who was raped at the age of 11, said she could not believe the man’s words.
“He came right in front of us and said ‘Voetsek! Zifebe sukani sibone amatshisthi’ (Move sluts. Move so we can see the maidens).”
Another woman said it hurt that they had gone to the city hall to ask for help, but were called sluts by the ones they expected help from.
“I was raped when I was in Grade 6, then again when I was in Grade 8. Rape is the story of my childhood and being treated the way he treated us is the story of every young woman in South Africa,” she said.
DUT student Mbalenhle Shange said they were advised by police monitoring the march to open a case against the man, but the nearest police station told them to return today.
“With everything happening in the country, he had the audacity to call us sluts after some of us were raped by men like him,” she said.
Msunduzi spokesperson Thobeka Mafumbatha said they would investigate the incident and take disciplinary action against the implicated employee.
“We distance ourselves from his comments. We do not condone woman abuse - verbal, physical nor any kind. The municipality will look into the matter and investigate,” she said.
KZN Network on Violence Against Women director Cookie Edwards said she was not surprised by the incident.
“Women are not taken seriously. Those young women must not give up; they must be motivated to see this through. There are many men working for the government who are perpetrators because they think their jobs will protect them,” she said.