5 MID MORNINGS - 16 DAYS, 16 VOICES - JES FOORD

In the 14th episode of 16 Days, 16 Voices we hear how Jes Foord is out walking with her father in Kwa Zulu Natal when 5 armed men held them up. They tied her father to a tree and threw her into a ditch where she was gang raped. When the attackers fled, she had to find the strength to report what happened. At the police station she's told there is no private room available, so she waits in the staff lunch area until she can give her statement. She is eventually taken to a clinic in Pinetown where she waited hours for the on-duty doctor to administer a rape kit. Back at the scene the SAPS dog unit finds the perpetrators’ car crashed into a tree about a kilometre away and begins tracking them. The dogs follow the scent for 16 hours until all 5 men are found and arrested. Exactly one year later her case appears in court for the first time. Jes went on to establish a foundation that focuses on education, creating awareness and changing attitudes through advocacy and other initiatives. It's her aim to address the problem itself, and the prevalence of rape in our society.
"16 Days, 16 Voices" brings forward the truths many women are forced to carry in silence. Each story comes from someone who has survived in a country where danger feels ordinary and violence is woven into daily life.