‘Have you ever had to wipe down beetroot stains on a wall? They never
really totally disappear, but leave streaks of pink and pain. From afar,
they look like a swirl of pink and white ice-cream but, on closer
inspection, the glare from the fear is blinding.’ – Lorraine Sithole

A young girl on the Cape Flats is gifted in exchange for a bottle of alcohol, a woman is beaten by her boyfriend and told to bezekela (persevere), a businesswoman is asked for sexual favours to secure a contract, while a child rapist is released on bail after three years . . .

South Africa is a country at war with its women. Rarely a woman can be found who has not been the victim of some kind of abuse or does not know a friend or a family member who has.

Gender-based violence takes many different forms – emotional, financial, physical, sexual and structural. It can be meted out by strangers, intimate partners or a family member.

In When Secrets Become Stories women from all walks of life, across racial lines, age and income demographics, boldly speak out. Many women are overcome by a sense of shame when they are sexually or emotionally abused but sharing what was once a secret, helps to break shame’s hold. And that is why these true stories must be told.

‘I am not defined by the abuse I have suffered,’ writes Sue Nyathi. ‘I am not a victim; I am a survivor.’ Heart-rendering at times, it is the honesty and courage of the writing that compels and inspires.

With contributions by writers such as Lorraine Sithole, DesireeAnne Martin, Lindiwe Hani, Shafinaaz Hassim and Cathy Park Kelly.