feature: anti-rape protests continue at rhodes university after alleged rapists named in #rureferencelist

This weekend Rhodes University students in South Africa took a brave and powerful stand against sexual assault and rapists. Following the release of the #RUReferenceList—a document naming 11 alleged rapists at the university—student activists took to the street for ongoing protests. During these movements, police used pepper spray and stun guns to break up the activists and disrupt their action against sexual assault and against the university; which students say does not take rape allegations seriously. Rape statistics are disturbingly high in South Africa with 53,617 cases reported during a one year period in 2014/2015, making it the country with the highest number of rapes in the world.

Rhodes University students confront a lecturer who called
the police during a protest against rape. 04/20/2016

Picture credit: Oppidan Press

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.