By Kabelo Mollo
“The Penal Code Act of 2010 criminalises rape, sexual contact with minors, and the indecent assault. Section (5)(2) of the Sexual Offenses Act, 2003 makes criminally liable “a person who induces another to submit to a sexual act through use of his authority, status, power, privilege, or other undue influence, commits an offense”.
This week social media platforms have been ablaze with news of an unfortunate incident that took allegedly place at a popular eatery in Maseru last Saturday. The above quotation is to confirm that rape is indeed a criminal offence in the kingdom. Thank you to ntate Thoboloko for the reference.
There are many moving parts with regard to the incident in question. The first is that the victim was the first to announce that such a thing had occurred in a Facebook post. From the onset, she was peppered with questions including but not limited to whether she’d reported the alleged crime to the police.
What struck me was the line of questioning from some of the social media users. They seemed to be suggesting she was wrong for posting about the incident while others suggested that such a crime could not have happened for any number of inane reasons.
The next moving part was the subsequent statement from the establishment the alleged crime took place at. A PR disaster if ever there was one. The statement was a mixture of victim blaming and a touch of narrative setting while also not covering the place in any sort of glory. It was most unfortunate that rather than acknowledge the complaint and vow to get to the bottom of the issue the popular eatery chose a stance that seemed to protect the alleged perpetrator. The statement had to have been triggering to survivors of sexual assault and the many women who have been silent victims of this heinous abuse.
The moving parts continued to an interview the victim did with a social media reporter. This once again opened the door for commentary from all and sundry. The misogyny on display was both jarring and disturbing. One started to understand why the digital media feminist agenda had adopted the “we believe her” moniker. The idea that a victim would be believed even before a court of law found the perpetrator guilty. It was quite a sight to behold as both men and women poured scorn on the young lady. Another reminder that patriarchy is a system protected by both genders.
In amongst all of this I hosted a Twitter space with the intention of assisting establishments with crisis management. The intent wasn’t to show restaurants and the like how to cover up criminal incidents. In fact, the intention was the exact opposite, it was to suggest that they should be able to own up when they were in the wrong and to encourage them do things that were in line with their brand and values. That space was derided and scorned too and while I see how it may have come across as insensitive, it really was meant in good faith. And so, we’re a few days removed from the incident and we eagerly anticipate the next move. It will surely be the arrest of the alleged perpetrator and ultimately the start of a trial, which will undoubtedly set tongues wagging once and again and the misogynoir will once again be in full view. Social media lawyers and activists will clash and the establishment will be boycotted until folks forget and go back to enjoying cocktails and platters. All the while there will be a victim who is left to live with the aftermath of that day. I hope she receives all the support she deserves from her family and friends. I hope she remains firm in her views and recognises she has done nothing wrong. I hope as a society we learn to tone down our misogyny until one day we have chipped away at the patriarchy enough for a more egalitarian society…
