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It's a day that she'll never forget. On 21 January 2009 Santi Britz's life was turned upside down when she was brutally raped in her Potchefstroom home in North West province.
She relived the trauma when she reported the crime to police and had to retell the story over and over again to the authorities until her rapist was eventually sentenced.
Through her pain she realised that she wasn't the only one battling to deal with the horror of being sexually assaulted.
She founded an organisation to support rape survivors – and in helping others she also started to heal.
Santi (61) tells YOU her story.
“A few days after I was raped a young friend gave me a beautiful plastic duck.
She didn't know it then, but that colourful duck would become a symbol of hope in my life, as well as in the lives of hundreds of rape victims.
After my rapist was sentenced in 2009, I started assisting victims who didn't have the support I had during my ordeal.
I saw that the system in South Africa fails sexual assault victims. They don’t know where to go, what to do and so important evidence gets lost in the process. Then when they do go and report the case, the perpetrators don’t even go to court or get sentenced.
One case that stuck with me over the years was that of a five-year-old girl who had witnessed her mom being raped. The impact of the trauma caused the little girl to stop speaking.
When I was contacted by Childline to assist her, I remembered the plastic duck that was such a comfort to me during my time of trauma because of its simplicity and realness.
I gave it to the little girl and told her that the duck was also raped like her mother but they were both okay now. I said the duck needed to continue its journey of healing and when I put it on her lap, she started speaking to the toy.
Two weeks later she testified in camera with the duck in her arms and because of her brave testimony, her mother's rapist was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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A few months later the story of the little girl and the plastic duck tugged at the heartstrings of Hester du Bruyn, then President of the South African Council for Business Women (Sacbw). We formed a beautiful relationship, and she was instrumental in founding our non-profit organisation iDuc (Initiative for Dedicated Upliftment and Care), named after that symbolic gift of hope.
Today iDuc assists victims of abuse and rape, gives support and assistance to crisis centers and creates awareness among men regarding their role in stopping gender-based violence. iDuc is also actively involved in running a GBV program at Northwest University.
I’ve done a lot of the work on my own, but I also have a wonderful team supporting me with marketing, communication, presentations to universities and schools. I've come to believe that iDuc is my life’s calling. And if you have a passion for what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
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We work with both female and male rape survivors but our message is the same for both: A rape victim can become a rape survivor.
There is hope and where there's hope, there's a future.
I know through my own experience that you can take your life back. I walk the road with them so that they know they're not alone and that it's okay if they’re not okay.
It’s a long process but there is help available.”
