Cape Town - One Billion Rising SA (OBRSA) and supporters of Anglican priest and alleged rape victim the Reverend June Dolley-Major gathered at the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.
Dolley-Major was ordered to appear in court for an urgent application to remove social media posts in which she names her alleged rapist, a fellow priest within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
The application was brought by the man whom Dolley-Major has accused of the rape, which she said happened at Grahamstown Seminary nearly 19 years ago.
Dolley-Major said she has been “censored”, as her social media posts were removed and reported as offensive or as hate speech.
“We are here today because, if he is successful, then what message are we sending. Then a precedent will be set for all rapists, to rape and then use a system and quote the Constitution for your right to dignity, etc, to then continue to rape the victim and then expect the victim to pay for that gagging order. The law might be there, but it does not mean that the law is right. Protecting perpetrators is not right.”
OBRSA member Tanya Bippert arrived in Cape Town from Caledon. “The perpetrator has more rights than the victims do. We not just here today just for her; we are here for every rape survivor that is getting gagged by institutions, so we have to take a stand.”
OBRSA member Esmarelda Mckay from Saldanha said, “Reverend Dolley is prominent in the media, but there are so many unspoken cases of so many broken families that don't have that support, and that is what we are trying to do, to create a really strong support system. Especially when it comes to the court, because it’s trauma again, you relive what happened and cases get postponed.”
Acting Judge Selwyn Hockey ordered that Dolley-June should not post the name of the claimant until the matter is heard in court on May 24.
Dolley-Major’s posts have been widely viewed and shared, garnering worldwide support.
ACSA’s Safe and Inclusive Church Commission (Safe Church) is investigating the matter. A report of the board of preliminary enquiry will be published on April 1. Should the report find there is a case to answer, a tribunal will be held in public sessions.
Cape Argus