Rape survivor vows 'enough'

AS the first institution to join the countrywide zero-tolerance campaign against rape and gender-based violence, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University yesterday launched social activist Andy Kawa's "Kwanele – enough is enough" brainchild.

Kawa, 52 – the survivor of a brutal gang rape at Port Elizabeth's Kings Beach five years ago – has used her ordeal to help combat rape and gender-based violence in South Africa.

Along with NMMU, the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) and the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Kawa's aim is to make South Africa – dubbed the rape capital of the world – the safest country for women, children and the vulnerable.

Speaking at the launch held at the NMMU south campus yesterday, Kawa, of Johannesburg, said: "The night I was raped for hours in the bushes, I made a pact with God. I told him that if he saved my soul, I would do anything to help the country's fight against rape.

"Launching Kwanele with NMMU is not only me holding up my end of the deal, but inspiring South Africans to have zero tolerance towards perpetrators. Enough is enough." - Alvené du Plessis