Stellenbosch student Rebecca Kuttschreuter (21) is hoping to make a difference in people’s lives by raising funds for Women Against Rape (WAR), an organisation aimed at raising awareness for the abuse of women.
She plans to do this by running the Two Oceans half marathon on 31 March. For every kilometre she runs, she hopes to be sponsored R100. She therefore hoped to raise R2100 for the 21km race but has since raised this goal to R5000 due to receiving so many donations.
“I thought I would do this marathon for something, rather than just myself. I just thought what an opportunity to try and raise funds,” says Kuttschreuter.
“This will fund safe havens where women can go to escape abuse, go for HIV tests, and will be a place where their kids can be looked after. It will also fund them to make a claim against a man who is abusing them, as they often don’t have the money to open a court case or get a restraining order.”
Rebecca Kuttschreuter (21), is a 4th year LLB student who, after past experiences, has decided to raise awareness against abuse. Credit: Given
WAR also provides education on women’s constitutional rights as most do not even know that they have the right to speak up due to being too afraid to do so.
“According to the constitution, we all have the right to human dignity, bodily integrity, equality and all of these are infringed when someone raises their hand to you,” says Kuttschreuter.
Kuttschreuter’s motivations are the result of close acquaintances who have been victims of abuse and also with the #MeToo movement involving so many women coming forward. She said that these instances were too common, and decided to do something about it.
Carey Robinson, a director of WAR, explains that it is a non-governmental organisation which started in 2000 in Johannesburg. According to Robinson, WAR is an umbrella organisation aiming to help individuals or any other organization to counter abusive environments.
“Our aim is to empower those whose confidence has been taken away by their abusers and so gives them the means to earn a living and move out of communities where abuse is often overlooked,” says Robinson.
Robinson says that in order for the average citizen to help, they first have to educate themselves on what abuse is. The WAR website aims to educate people on this issue, she explains.
Recovery counselling forms a big part of helping people through these traumatic incidents, and WAR provides a large network of trauma centres that offer free counselling sessions.
For more information visit these websites:
https://gogetfunding.com/justiceforwomen/
https://womanagainstrape.co.za/sponsorship-3/
– Jeremy Ryall