Kidnapped victim faces secondary victimisation on social media

Kwa-Thema – Social media bullying has pushed a survivor of kidnapping (15) into a deep dark hole.The 15-year-old was kidnapped by two armed men while walking home on Wednesday afternoon.
She was taken to a flat in Hillbrow where she was kept captive overnight.
The teenager managed to escape the sex den on Thursday afternoon when her kidnappers slipped out to go buy her clothes.
On Thursday afternoon after hearing that she was found in Hillbrow, social media posts started circulating that she “was found in Hillbrow with her boyfriend”.
Many users started calling her demeaning names for them investing their emotions and wasting state resources to find her.
Explaining her ordeal, the teenager said the men tested her virginity and were happy to find she was still intact.

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“The following morning they told me that they were going shopping for my new clothes. While they were out I managed to find my cellphone and send my family the location.
“My sister who was communicating with me on Whatsapp asked me to check if the door was locked and I discovered that it was not.
“She told me to run and not look back. I ran into a grocery store and informed my family where I was,” she explained.
The teenager’s uncle, who works in the area, asked that she gives the security guard her cellphone so that he could speak to him to find out her exact location.
Her uncle was able to rescue her and was later brought back to Kwa-Thema by the police.
She added that it broke her heart that people were lying about her without knowing the facts about her traumatic experience.
“They were calling me names and didn’t care how their actions will have an impact on me and my family. How am I going to be able to walk in the streets and go back to school when I am labelled like that?” she asked.
Kwa-Thema police spokesperson Constable Nkululeko Magudulela confirmed that they are investigating a case of kidnapping.
“No one has been arrested and investigations are underway,” he explained.

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