“When we hear our neighbours screaming, we have an obligation”

Machel, daughter of former first lady Graça Machel, recounted her experience as a survivor of violence at the opening plenary for the 2019 Sexual Violence Research Institute Forum held on Tuesday in Cape Town.

Four years ago, on 17 October 2015, Machel was assaulted by her then-partner, a wealthy Maputo businessman, inside his car. She was hit on the head three times and lost her sight in one eye.

In 2016 and 2017, 46.7% of those assaulted in South Africa were women according to a 2018 Statistics SA report. Out of the overall sexual offences, 68.5% of victims were women. The report also noted that while the overall crime rate has decreased between 2013 and 2017, violent crime against women has drastically risen.

To the Street and Back: One Woman’s Journey

Let’s call her Samantha (she asked to remain anonymous to protect her privacy). After more than 50 years of a life most would consider normal, Samantha found herself living on the streets of Chicago for nearly four years.

Her story is one of many that echoes the fragility between having a home and not.

Samantha constantly moved forward, helping others along the way, and her compassion and determination led her to a home. This is her story.

An Unfinished Life

Sometimes at night I find myself staring into the abyss, parading as the white popcorn ceiling above my head. As the hours trickle away, my mind bubbles into a whirlpool with images and dates and lists. At 23, I’m kind of neurotic, always thinking six weeks ahead of my present. I’m racing against an invisible clock. I haven’t always been like this. When I was 16, three events culminated in a matter of four months and permanently changed my outlook on life and the longevity of it, or sometimes lack thereof.

The Butterfly

Introduction: To Madison Yauger, flowers and butterflies go together like biscuits and jam. Her family has always thrived in the garden, but after her grandfather passed away, butterflies began to mean a little something more.

Determined

As soon as my hand left the table, all 20 lbs. of me crashed landed on the scratchy carpet, but I didn’t cry. I leaned into my rolls of baby fat, pulled myself up and took a wobbly step. After that moment, I never went back to crawling. I was determined to walk.