Join fight to ban games promoting rape

Rape is one of the worst scourges faced by people of all cultures – both male and female – in South Africa with reported statistics suggesting approximately 40 000 people are raped in SA every year.

This, however, may just be just the tip of a much larger iceberg as it is commonly accepted that only one in four rapes is reported.

This press release was sent to the Springs Advertiser on Monday as staff were getting ready to put this week’s edition to bed.

While the paper shies away from supporting free advertising, editor Samantha Keogh believes this is an extremely important cause and the decision has thus been taken to share Avon’s message, which reads as follows, with our readers:

Avon, the biggest direct-selling company in South Africa, has announced its commitment to the 1 000 Women Trust petition, which aims to change local legislation to ban the release and availability of any video game that promotes violence against women.

This follows the creation of the controversial ‘Rape Day’ online video game, which the developer still plans to launch in 2019, despite global condemnation.

“As a responsible corporate citizen, committed to the protection of South Africa’s women through our stand4her initiative, we simply could not stand by while platforms that glorify violence and rape actually exist in our world,” says Katlego Modipane, Senior PR and Corporate Affairs Specialist of Avon.

He continues: “We fully support the tireless work of the 1 000 Women Trust in raising awareness of violence against women and respectfully challenge all South Africans, as well as other responsible companies, to support and share the petition with their respective communities to enact real legislative change.

“This initiative is also especially poignant in the month of Human Rights Day, whereby all South Africans – women and men – are being reminded of their right to human dignity, equality and freedom, as well as recent cultural movements to highlight sexual harassment and abuse such as #MeToo.”

Tina Thiart of the 1 000 Women Trust explains the petition will be handed over to multiple influential parties, which include the Minister of Women in the Presidency, the Minister of Communications and Telecommunications and the United Nations.

“The issue of rape is not a game and, with statistics revealing that an estimated 40 per cent of South African women will be raped in their lifetime, this sort of platform will not only further contribute to the societal problem, but also drive desensitisation among youth.”

To lend your support to the campaign, sign the petition at https://my.avon.co.za/standforher and, when sharing on social media platforms, use the hashtags #RapeisNotaGame and #stand4her.