A counsellor from Ekurhuleni is on a mission to break the stigma around sexual abuse and advocate for mental health as she shares her sexual assault story to empower others.
About 30 years ago, when Boksburg-based counsellor Joanita Smit, 46, was 16 years old, she was allegedly gang-raped by a group of four teenage boys from a neighbouring school while attending a friend’s birthday party in Fleurdal, Bloemfontein. The traumatic incident occurred when she went to change out of her swimsuit after the party had ended.
“For many years I could only remember snippets of that evening. I remember the door opening as soon as I took my bikini top off. I remember feeling embarrassed, thinking that the boys entered the room by mistake. The realisation of what was about to happen became apparent when one of the boys put his hand over my mouth and told me to ‘keep quiet’. I can still smell the scent of his deodorant even today,” Smit said. The counsellor added that the ordeal lasted minutes but felt like hours.
Gathering her emotions and composure, Smit got dressed, washed her face, pretended that nothing had happened and helped her friend clean up before finally going home. Smit didn’t tell her parents or anyone about her sexual assault.
Unable and unwilling to tend to her psychological wounds, Smit buried her trauma and suffered consequences as her assault affected her self-image and her trust in people and weighed heavily on her mental health.
“Since the age of 18, my journey with mental health started. I struggled with depression, but in those years it was a topic that was not spoken about. At the age of 24, I tried to take my own life by overdosing on depression medication. Luckily, I was found in time and lived to share my story with the world,” she said.
The counsellor added that it took her a long time to realise that the things you do, say or feel are a result of extreme trauma.
Smit’s turning point came at the age of 32 when she worked with a psychiatrist and she is being successfully treated for bipolar disorder 2, anxiety disorder, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and high emotional intelligence (EQ) today.
“Through therapy and medication, I got my life back and discovered how uneducated people are about mental health. I made a promise to myself to be an advocate for all the people suffering and all the victims by breaking this stigma,” she said.
After her school was forced to shut down during the pandemic, Smit took a short counselling course to offer pro bono mental health assistance to sexual abuse survivors online.
“I believe that the trauma I experienced planted the seed for my passion to help others. It’s the source of the compassion and empathy I have for the struggles of others,” she said.
She decided to further broaden her studies and become an advanced therapist and provide therapy for gender-based violence, mental health disorders, phobias, eating disorders, substance abuse, bereavement and youth issues.
However, she is having trouble broadening her education financially. To cover the R16 000 shortfall needed to begin her studies, Smit has launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy, to appeal to the public for support so that she may use her talents to help others.
@Chulu_M