No means no

Gallery Video

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS AND VIDEO - No means no and enough is enough.

This is the message from hundreds of Graaff-Reinet community members, who gathered at the town's Magistrate's Court on 11 August to protest against gender-based violence in the town.

A group of protesters, dressed in black, were at the court shortly before 9am, where the larger group joined them later on, following a police-escorted march on Church Street. Signs seen at the protest, among others, read "No for rape," "No bail, only jail," and "No means no."

Photo gallery: Protest against gender-based violence

The protest follows the news over the weekend that six women of Wolwas were attacked while on their way home from work. Three of these women were raped. The two suspects appeared in the court on Tuesday morning, where the case was postponed to 12 October. The men were denied bail.

"[We] demand strong sentencing for those found guilty of gender-based violence in all forms," said Ward Councillor Joy Williams, reading from the memorandum which the protesters delivered to the court.

The memorandum, which gathered 340 signatures, also demands that crimes against women be treated as priority crimes and that SAPS promotes gender sensitivity.

"Government is responsible for the safety and security of its citizens and government is failing in its duty," Williams said.

Enough is enough, said protesters about gender-based violence in Graaff-Reinet.

MP Samantha Graham-Maré also addressed the crowd, saying that the community's hearts go out to the victims of the brutal attack. "The women will have to carry the incident with them for the rest of their lives," she said. "We stand together to say enough is enough. We can't be scared our entire lives." Graham-Maré plans to take the matter to Parliament.

Court Manager René Viljoen also spoke to the crowd, stating that [incidents such as rape] in society are not right. "We have to set an example and speak out against that which is wrong," she said.

Speaking to the Graaff-Reinet Advertiser, one protester said that women are also valuable and that their bodies are not toys. "We want a safer community," she added.

Williams thanked the community for uniting against gender-based violence.

Watch a video below.