A rape survivor and activist has revealed why she was compelled to share intimate details of her alleged sexual assault on social media just minutes after the attack, explaining that she instantly knew that she couldn’t keep what happened to her a secret.
Amber Amour, 27, was in Cape Town, South Africa, promoting her ‘Stop Rape. Educate’ campaign in November when she she was allegedly attacked by a man named Shakir after she agreed to take a shower with him. After she was raped, Amber took to Instagram to post a photo of herself crying and a message detailing the horrific sexual assault.
‘Here I was, telling survivors every single day that they should speak up… I knew I had to practice what I preached,’ she explained to Marie Claire UK. ‘So the first thing I did was take a picture and write a post, describing what had happened.’
‘It was almost an intuitive thing,’ she added. ‘I was still in the bathroom – in the crime scene. I don’t even think I’d stood up. I just typed and typed.’
In her candid post, Amber explained that she had returned to a hostel that she previously stayed at after a two day bout with food poisoning to leave a note for her friend Nick when she ran into Shakir who was trying to ‘get with’ her.
She said she kissed him once, but claimed she had met someone and left because he ‘seemed drunk’. However, when he followed her upstairs and asked her to join him in the shower she agreed.
‘I said yes because the water at my current hostel is pretty cold and after two days of being sick, I just really wanted a hot shower,’ she explained. ‘As soon as I got in the bathroom, he forced me to my knees. I said “stop!” but he just got more violent.’
Amber went on to detail the sexual assault that caused her to pass out. When she awoke, She said he came back to the shower.
‘I have all those f****d up feelings that we get after rape…shame, disgust, suffering,’ she wrote. ‘I’m here, alone, and any DNA has been wiped away in the shower. The South African police will just roll their eyes when I walk in. Feeling sicker than ever now.’
The next day Amber returned to Instagram before she headed to the hospital to share a photo of the three angel cards she drew the night of her sexual assault.
‘Dealing with cops is tough and the rape kit is the last thing I want– tools and metal instruments and combs all up in my private parts…. But this is what I stand for,’ she wrote.
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