It is a chilly Monday afternoon in Stellenbosch when Michaela van Nierop (21) sits down on my couch, her hands wrapped around a Friends-themed mug, sipping a Nespresso coffee.
Nearly three years after Van Nierop’s drink was spiked in a Stellenbosch club and she was raped by two men later that evening, she decided to file a case against them with the police this year and chose to speak up about what had happened to her during her first year at Stellenbosch University (SU).
Van Nierop, originally from Johannesburg, moved to Stellenbosch in 2016 to start studying for a BCom in Economics and Investment Management degree at SU. She resided at Goldfields Residence, was very involved in res matters, she was doing well with her studies and enjoyed partying with friends even though she had recently gone through a breakup.
“I was a little bit of a party animal [at the time] – going out quite a lot. Silly season was a thing. I was very much a typical first year having fun,” she laughs as she sits back on the couch, resting her hands on her lap.
On the night that her life would change, she and a friend decided to have a “girly chat” over a bottle of wine. At around 11 o’clock two other friends suggested that they all go for a night out on the town. Their first stop was one of the well-visited night clubs in Stellenbosch to get the ‘three for two’ double vodka special.
“Looking back, that’s when I remember being bumped into quite harshly. Then my friend ran off and I followed her to [another popular Stellenbosch night club]. This is where my memories get fuzzy. I know we met up with some other people from Goldfields, I remember being on the phone to my sister and going to the bathroom.”
“At some point, there were two guys who offered to take us home. I didn’t know them at all.”
When they got back to Goldfields the other three girls went inside but Van Nierop was called back to the car by one of the men who had offered them a ride.
“He was speaking to me through the window and the next thing I can remember is being on the back seat of the car. They took me to a bed and breakfast and ja …”
Van Nierop reaches up and twirls her brown hair that is tied back into a ponytail.
Michaela van Nierop decided to report and speak up about being raped in her first year at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Facebook
The next morning Van Nierop woke up next to a man in his 40’s. The other man was sleeping in the next room. She was disoriented, felt groggy and confused and had almost no memory of the night before. She couldn’t find her phone and so she asked the man to phone her number.
“I gave him my number to phone, obviously, and we found it in the car. Later that afternoon he phoned me again and he also befriended me on Facebook. And that’s how I got their names.”
Van Nierop was able to provide the police with their full names when she reported the rape. The two businessmen from Durban told Van Nierop that she had agreed to everything and then they drove her back home the next morning.
“I tried very hard not to think about it for quite a while. It didn’t sit right with me and then ten days later I got symptoms for herpes. That’s the thing that kind of made it a real thing for me.”
Even though her blood tests came back clean, Van Nierop felt uneasy about that night. She recalled the number of drinks she had had and couldn’t justify a black-out.
“[I just know] I didn’t agree to any of it and they had no right.”
Because Van Nierop did not realise what had happened right away, she never went for a drug test and couldn’t prove that she was drugged that night. She did not report the rape initially because she realised that it would come down to her word against theirs in court.
“I can’t prove anything. And that’s literally what it came down to when I reported it now.”
Shortly after she realised what had truly happened, Van Nierop started therapy and still continues her sessions today. She was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, dysthymia, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. This has seriously affected her academics and social life.
At the end of last year, Van Nierop decided that she “had to rip the Band-Aid off” and report the rape.
“I didn’t want to go for the rest of my life worrying about whether or not they do it to other people. You want to make a difference – at least by reporting it. I didn’t want to wonder about what would’ve happened if I had [reported it].”
Van Nierop’s case has since been closed because it could not be proven that she was drugged on the night of the rape. The family is looking into pursuing the matter in a civil law case.
Van Nierop’s advice to somebody in a similar situation is that they must keep going.
“You are stronger than they are, and you are stronger than you think you are. It’s always worth it to push through, no matter how hard it seems. You’re worth it in the end.”
Contact the Centre for Student Councelling and Development’s 24-hour crisis service and ER24 at:
010 205 3032
The CSCD and ER24 emergency numbers. PHOTO: Supplied.