Amanzimtoti man finds strength after horrific ordeal

MICHAEL Anderson is still trying to deal with the trauma and physical pain he has had to endure since he was gang-raped by a group of men in Port Shepstone in May.

Michael (26) believes the men targeted him because he is gay, and they created a plot to get him to Port Shepstone. After the incident, he said he went to the police station to open a case but even the police were taken back by what he reported as men seldom report rape.

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“They were shocked and said men don’t usually report rape. When I got to the hospital, I lay in casualty for four hours with nothing more than paracetamol, and I was not offered anything else for pain management,” said Michael.

The incident unfolded when he received a message on social media from a person saying they were interested in his bookkeeping services. He drove from Amanzimtoti to Seaview near Port Shepstone to meet the person, and it turned out to be a set-up.

“After meeting him, he asked that we fetch his business associates, who turned up wearing balaclavas and were armed,” he said.

The ordeal lasted for five hours, and when they finally let him go, he was left naked, and they took everything, including siphoning fuel from his car, which they did not take.

What makes it worse is that this was the second rape he’s had to endure. In 2019, he was raped at Amanzimtoti Beach a day before he turned 21. He had gone to a restaurant near the beach to meet a friend for some cocktails. As he strolled along the beach before meeting up with his friend, four men pounced on him and dragged him to the secluded dunes where they raped him until he fell unconscious.

“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, and I don’t want sympathy. I want to show people that I remain strong and this has not shaken or broken me. I still take each day as it comes,” said Michael.

As required for victims of rape, he had to take antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the mandatory 28 days. He was able to get the ARVs through the Netcare Foundation which assists victims of rape for free, including providing trauma counselling. He thanked Kim Lithgow and Angela Hughes from Same Love Toti for the support they have given him, as well as his friend, Gemma Borchard, who set up a GoFundMe to assist him financially. He also thanked his grandparents whom he said have provided support even though they might not agree with his sexuality.

Kim said male rape is common, but it is under-reported due to the stigma and secondary victimisation. She said the motive for rape is usually for power, and often it is used as a form of punishment or humiliation.

“Rapists typically target the most vulnerable, and this can mean that they look for gay men specifically. They are already marginalised and isolated, and reluctant to report crimes, so this makes them the perfect target. In general, the hospitals are ill-equipped to adequately address rape and to provide the special care that victims need. Unfortunately, there is very little support for men and boys who are assaulted. But even so, please reach out, open a case, and know that we are always here to support victims of assault, especially when it may qualify as a hate crime,” she said.

She encouraged all victims, whether male or female, to report rape.

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