The celebrities who are fighting back against sexual abuse

Rape and sexual abuse are in the spotlight in the country at the moment.

In September, the news of a six-year-old girl who was raped in Pretoria broke the hearts of many South Africans. The girl was raped in the toilets of a Dros restaurant.

Another rape incident that has the country talking is the trial of pastor Tim Omotoso. The Senior Pastor of the Jesus Dominion International Church is accused of raping young girls who were members of his church.

Sadly, rape can take place anywhere, even in places people deem as the safest, such as church.

Here are six celebrities who took their devastating experiences of sexual abuse and turned it around to help others:

ALSO READ: Criselda Dudumashe on healing from childhood sexual abuse and finding love

Andile Gaelesiwe

One of the celebrities who was also taken advantage of by the person who was supposed to protect her is Andile Gaelesiwe.

The ‘Khumbul’ekhaya’ host recently revealed that she was raped by her father.

"So in September days before my bday I got thee traumatic shock of my life when I saw this face on my timeline. Thread. This was my biological father being looked for on this app. More traumatically he was my rapist. The last time I saw this man was when...he forced himself on me.So you can imagine my horror when I see people comment and some even joke re Khumbu and It broke me, I relived," she wrote on Twitter.

Andile is now an activist in the fight against sexual assault and runs an organisation, called Open Disclosure Foundation, which offers help to rape victims.

ALSO READ: Grizelda Grootboom’s escape from sex slavery

Nokuthula Ledwaba

Actress Nokuthula Ledwaba experienced sexual assault by a colleague in the acting industry.

"I was 19, starting out as an actor when a ‘respected’ male actor in his 30s said he wanted to ‘take care’ of me while stroking my hair. This particular actor was married. I just played along for an hour or so and ducked as soon as I could,” she wrote on Twitter.

When Ledwaba chose to report the man, she says no one listened.

"I had reported him on many occasions and nobody listened. I got fed up. I asked to be written out of the show. They thought I was kidding. I simply refused to work," she wrote in a tweet that has now been removed. 

Katlego Danke 

Katlego Danke is also one of the actors who was a victim of sexual assault. She took to Twitter to share her story of how she was sexually harassed at university and at work.

“It’s so important for us to be having these conversations because this is a real issue. I have been a victim, at university and very recently at work. It happened while I was still walking to set past a male group of extras. I went to management immediately and told them they needed to deal with it. I take a huge stand against it because of my past experiences, even the subliminal sexual comments from male colleagues are actually disturbing but we have been taught to laugh them off,” she Tweeted.

Crystal-Donna Roberts

Another actress who was a victim of sexual abuse is Crystal-Donna Roberts.

"I won’t say which show it was for or for what character I played, but I was doing a scene with my character’s boyfriend and we were meant to kiss. During the kiss he started putting his hands on my breasts and bum and that was not in the script at all. I was so shocked that at first I thought I was imagining it and questioned if it happened, but it did and I wish I spoke about it earlier. You don’t expect it to happen to you because it is a colleague, someone you know, a man you will see at an industry event. The problem is that we are scared to speak, we don’t want to lose our jobs or not get another one so we don’t say anything, but I think it’s time that changed. We need to start speaking and telling our stories and taking a stand against what has been happening for a long time," she told IOL.

Tumi Morake

Comedian and media personality Tumi Morake says her virginity was stolen by a boy who raped her when she was 15.

“It was one of those weekends where we had a performance at one of the universities in the Free State and I had borrowed a belt from this boy I had a crush on. When I went to return it at his residence he locked the room and raped me. When I told him to stop he didn’t listen and when I tried to push him away he wouldn’t let me go,” she told Move! magazine.

Lebo Sekgobela

Gospel singer Lebo Sekgobela was raped at age eight by her sister’s older friend in the school toilet.

The singer opened up about the rape to True Love. Sadly, she was raped again when she was 11. Lebo told the publication that she was assaulted by a male neighbour who offered her a lift and raped her in the car.

Ntsiki Mazwai

Another celebrity who was a victim of rape is Ntsiki Mazwai. The musician and poet came out with the news in 2017.

Are you a victim of rape and need help? Organisations such as POWA, RADA, and Open Disclosure Foundation offer great support for abused women.

Image courtesy of Twitter/ @ntsikimazwai