Transgender Woman Calls for Safer University Spaces After Rape Ordeal Still Haunts her 7 Years Later
- A transgender woman who was raped during her first year at a tertiary institution does not want other students to experience the ordeal she went through and is calling for their protection
- Still struggling to forget the horrific ordeal, she said that transgender women should not be made to share the same university residential accommodation with straight male students
- The young transgender woman told Briefly News how she managed to overcome the ordeal that unfolded at her university
- Two experts, who co-authored a study on rape, also told Briefly News that sexual violence is an ongoing and major problem at tertiary institutions
LIMPOPO - A young transgender woman is making it her life’s mission to create safer spaces at universities after she was sexually assaulted in a male bathroom at a Limpopo university.
“It was during the first week of February 2017. I was having a shower. He just barged in and overpowered me. That is how I was raped. I tried to scream but no one came to my rescue and everything just happened so fast,” rape survivor Agnes Munyai* (*not her real name) recalled to Briefly News.
The 27-year-old Munyai, who identifies as a transgender woman, was allegedly raped inside one of the University of Venda (UNIVEN) student residences’ showers. She was only 19 years old and had just started her accounting degree at the same institution.
Source: Getty Images
Despite the incident having occurred more than seven years ago, the soft-spoken Munyai still gets fresh flashbacks from the ordeal and lives with consistent fears of being attacked again.
PAY ATTENTION: Briefly News is now on YouTube! Check out our interviews on Briefly TV Life now!
But Munyai is not the only student to have encountered a sexual violence incident while pursuing education at a tertiary institution, as cases of sexual violence continue to be reported at universities and colleges around South Africa.
A survey, which was published by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) in 2021, found that female students at historically disadvantaged institutions and technical vocational education and training colleges in South Africa are more prone to experience sexual violence within institutions.
Munyai said that tertiary institutions need to ensure that all students, especially females, transgender, lesbian, and gay students, are protected at all times.
"Being sexually assaulted is the worst experience any human can endure. It is excruciating, even driving some to contemplate taking their own life."
“I feel like not much is being done to protect students who reside within campuses and outside of the campuses, as many of them are being sexually abused all the time, though others choose to keep quiet,” said Munyai.
Till today, Munyai from Makuya village, outside Musina, in Limpopo, still believes that she might have been targeted because she is a transgender woman. She was residing in a male student residence, as the university does not have designated rooms for transgender students.
Needs of LGBTI+ students should be taken into account
“I feel it is about time that he needs of LGBTI+ students must be considered when they are allocated accommodation within student residences, because that is where all these problems begin.
“Look, from the first day, I didn’t feel comfortable.
“I was told that I am supposed to be hosted at the male residence, because my ID says that I am a male. I had informed them that I am a transgender woman and I cannot be accommodated in the same place as men,” said Munyai.
Speaking to Briefly News, Dr Mercilene Machisa, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) specialist scientist, said sexual violence is an ongoing and major problem at tertiary institutions. Dr Machisa said it needs urgent attention.
“Through our research over the years, we have found that mostly perpetrators of sexual violence against female students are often fellow male students, especially those who are part of the Student Representative Council (SRC),” explained Machisa.
This is evidenced in Munyai situation, as she was allegedly raped by a fellow student, someone whom she had never seen before on campus before the day of the incident. But after the rape incident she saw him several times roaming around the campus.
“I was new to campus, it was my first week, and the only people I knew were a few high school friends.
“I did not know what to do after the incident and was too scared to tell anyone about the ordeal,” said Munyai.
Here is why victims do not report cases
Munyai is still unable to forget the ordeal she went through. She never received any form of counselling after the incident and the rape was never reported to law enforcement, and she didn’t know where else to report the case on campus
“A few minutes after I was raped, I informed security personnel who were on duty that night but they asked me if I knew the perpetrator and I said ‘no’ but I can identify his face.
“But they never believed nor helped me, saying that, because I have already taken a shower, I have washed away all the evidence and I should just go and sleep,” said Munyai.
There are several reasons why most victims of sexual violence never report incidents to police, such as fear of not being believed.
Machisa said that some male staff members at tertiary education institutions are also perpetrators of such forms of violence against female students. She says there are instances of the male lecturers manipulating and sexually abusing female students with the promise of giving them better academic marks.
“Also, there are men from outside the campuses who have resources who prey on this vulnerable group of females as they know that some of them come from poor family backgrounds, and they use this to their advantage,” said Machisa.
Machisa co-authored and published a SAMRC study, Ntombi Vimbela!, which aimed to reduce the risks of female students experiencing sexual violence by raising awareness about sexual assault and its drivers. Machisa said campuses need to play a role in curbing sexual violence against female students.
“We need intervention that empowers the female students to understand the risks of sexual violence. Most of the victims come from high school, still naive and lack basic skills and understanding of what some of the things are, which may put them at risk of being sexually violated.”
Machisa added that through their intervention study, they have learned that providing female students with skills to assess the risks of sexual violence and to clearly understand and identify situations that can put them at risk of sexual violence can help curb sexual violence against female students on campuses.
But Dr Pinky Mahlangu, Ntombi Vimbela co-author, told Briefly News that it is concerning that most sexual violence cases against female students are never reported in South Africa, and those that get reported, most of the time, never reach prosecution.
“Through our research, we have found that the negative attitude of the service providers (police) makes students not want to go there and open cases of sexual violence.
“There is a need for training for these service providers so that they can be receptive and open enough to welcome students to report such cases,” said Mahlangu.
Source: Getty Images
Fears of contracting diseases
Munyai, who now works in Johannesburg as an audit consultant, said that she suppressed the ordeal and never told her family, but she had consistent fears that she might have contracted HIV from the rape.
She only took an HIV test two years later after the rape and it came back negative.
According to Soul City Institute CEO, Phinah Kodisang, sexual assault often involves unprotected sexual contact, which increases the risk of transmission of sexually transmitted infections or diseases such as HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis.
“In many cases, the victim may not have had the opportunity to take preventive measures like using condoms. Survivors of sexual assault may delay seeking medical care due to trauma, fear, or shame, and this delay can lead to undiagnosed STIs, or other health complications, which could have been preventable or treatable with prompt attention,” said Kodisang.
Due to the trauma Munyai faced, she said she has had difficulties trusting men.
“I am still struggling to come to terms with what happened to me, though it was years ago. In June last year, I started going to therapy. Hopefully, as time goes on, things will get better,” she said.
Munyai said she does not wish any student to go through the same ordeal she experienced.
“Being raped makes you ask yourself endless questions that have no answers. Questions such as ‘why me? How am I going to carry on with life?’
“Everything is still fresh in my mind. I still have countless unanswered questions,” said Munyai.
The university could not be reached for comment, despite Briefly News local correspondent Ndivhuwo Mukwevho's best efforts.
SA trans woman celebrates new ID
In another story, Briefly News reported that a joyful transgender woman from Mzansi took to social media to celebrate receiving her updated ID.
Jasimine Kota shared the news on Twitter, posting a photo of her official abridged birth certificate showing her affirmed identity.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
