Time to disassemble the gender lens through which sexual violence is filtered

I followed the court hearing of East Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge, with an almost obsessive intensity, as a person unable to destroy the eyes of a car accident. Much paralyzed by the drama that unfolds in real time to look away. My fixation is quite personal – complicated by identity layers. I am a woman, I am black, I live in SA and work for the government for over a decade. Andiswa Mengo's story, the complainant in this case, is not just her – resonates with me and I believe deeply in many other south -African women.

My fascination is not just about the scandal, it is about reading the reactions of the south -Africans on social platforms and transmission on revelations. Examining social media comments and news articles to get a lighter image and broader perspectives. Despite the explosive revelations of the complainant, he is saying that the conversation did not tend much during the presentation of evidence of the court. This changed completely when the interviewee's legal representative, Adv Muzi Sikhakhane, began to question the complainant on January 21.

So suddenly the social media frenzy exploded – not about the merits of the case, but about its focus on the complainant. Notwithstanding his important task of defending his client – ensuring that the judge's president did not sexually harass Mengo, but that his interactions were consensual sexual play between two adults. This line of defense is problematic. It is, by itself, the first mistake that the judge's president and his legal team have made.

The dynamics of power at stake here is immense and cannot be ignored. Suggest that there may be sexual consent between a president and a court secretary, a 60 -year -old child and a 30 -year -old child is illogical. What is worrying is the reaction of many southern -Africans to Sikhakhane's line of questioning. People who are not started on sexual harassment matters may conclude that because the complainant has not ignored her messages of flirt and sexual, she must have consented to a sexual relationship. This is the fault of the victim, who is in accordance with the views of many south -Africans. The victim's fault at stake reflects the sad reality that in our society women are often responsible for the actions of masters when these men are older, more educated and occupy positions of moral and legal authority, as well as power.

The complainant's reaction to an action must not be on trial. This posture effectively communicates that the complainant is not a victim because it does not fit the social mold of the “perfect victim”.

This expectation is not only harmful, but it serves to silence victims of gender violence. This implies that a victim should be untouched on her behavior and behavior – that she must have avoided any interaction that can be interpreted as flirting, or she is accomplice in harassment.

This is despite the judge's president, in constant and consistently promoting sexual conversations with the complainant. This reasoning is completely devoid of the complexity of navigating a work environment in which you need to please male egos and authoritarian figures that have the potential to destroy it if you do not give them what they require.

This “perfect victim” narrative is rooted in defective social norms, which require women to demonstrate the innocence of any sexual experience as if their sex agency were irrelevant to victimization. According to this logic, a woman cannot be sexually harassed if she responds to sexual care; She must remain disinterested and unaware of sexuality to be considered a victim. This sexist view distorts the reality of what constitutes sexual harassment, impairs the victim's credibility and deterioration other victims of presenting themselves due to the fear of having their private lives examined.

We are witnessing justice being harmed by a legal and social system that claims to defend justice and eradicate all forms of gender -based violence, as well as pursue a double standard of the “perfect victim.” What we are witnessing is a justice system that perpetuates victims' guilt and gender violence through the treatment of those who present themselves and not the one who needs to respond to the accusation.

As a society, we must address these imbalances of power, radically changing as we see the victims and the authors of sexual violence.

We need to dismantle gender lenses through which these incidents are filtered and focus on their own violation, not in the victim's history, conduct or value based on unfair and unequal expectations. We must create safe spaces where victims can share their experiences without fear of intimidation or judgment.

It is time to rethink our understanding of who is a victim, who is an aggressor and how we can better support those who are harmed – without subjecting them to additional trauma through harmful social judgments.

• Seedat is an ex -port -vice -vice -president and specialist in presidency communications, she writes in her personal ability