Ex-lover’s sexual assault still a raw wound in Nonn Botha’s life 15 years later

Nonn Botha has opened up about sexual assault in the hands of her lover of six years.

The radio personality was devastated and traumatised by the incident that happened when she was 23. She found the courage to talk about it 15 years later.

“I only recently told my mom when she was singing praises about my first boyfriend. I just burst out, ‘No, this man is a rapist because he hit me and forced himself on me,” she said.

“When you are hurt by someone you trust…many women are not strong enough to talk about sexual abuse because it is something that they hide away and it is a boc they don’t want to open.

“At the end of the day it is my body and if I say no, I mean no,” she said.

Botha said this after she and other South African women joined the #MeToo campaign. Here, the women share their personal accounts of sexual assault and harassment.

The campaign is aimed at breaking the culture of silence on sexual abuse.

In her Facebook post, Botha revealed how she was almost raped by a taxi driver a couple of years ago.

“I never reported my boyfriend to the police and I tried to make an excuse for him that I shouldn’t do something that will make him angry and trigger a beating or even a sexual assault.”

Botha realised she hasn’t forgiven her ex-boyfriend and wants to go for therapy. She revealed that it was difficult for her to trust someone when she gets into a relationship.