Man from Amanzimtoti speaks out after gang rape – LNN

Michael Anderson is still trying to come to terms with the trauma and physical pain he has endured since being gang raped by a group of men in Port Shepstone in May.

Anderson (26) believes the men targeted him because of his homosexuality and hatched a plan to take him to Port Shepstone. After the incident, he says he went to the police to file a report, but even the police were surprised by his statement because men rarely report rape.

“They were shocked and said men don’t usually report rape. When I got to the hospital, I was in the emergency room for four hours and was given nothing but paracetamol and nothing else for pain relief,” Anderson said.

The incident occurred when he received a message on social media from a person interested in his accounting services. He drove from Amanzimtoti to Seaview near Port Shepstone to meet the person and it turned out to be a trap.

“After we met him, he asked us to pick up his business partners, who showed up wearing balaclavas and armed,” he said.

The ordeal lasted five hours. When they finally let him go, he was naked and they took everything from him, even siphoning petrol from his car, which they did not take away.

What makes it worse is that this was the second rape he had to endure. In 2019, he was raped on Amanzimtoti Beach, a day before his 21st birthday. He had gone to a restaurant near the beach to meet a friend for some cocktails. As he was walking along the beach before meeting his friend, four men pounced on him and dragged him into the remote dunes where they raped him until he fell unconscious.

“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, and I don’t want pity. I want to show people that I’m still strong and that this hasn’t shaken me or broken me. I’m still taking each day as it comes,” Anderson said.

As prescribed for rape victims, he had to take antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for 28 days. He was able to obtain the ARVs through the Netcare Foundation, which provides free assistance to rape victims and offers trauma counselling, among other services.

He thanked Kim Lithgow and Angela Hughes of Same Love Toti for their support, as well as his girlfriend Gemma Borchard, who set up a GoFundMe campaign to support him financially. He also thanked his grandparents, who supported him despite not agreeing with his sexuality.

According to Lithgow, rapes of men are common but are rarely reported due to stigma and secondary victimization. The motive for rape is usually power and it is often used as a form of punishment or humiliation.

“Rapists typically target the most vulnerable, and that may mean they specifically seek out gay men. They are already marginalised and isolated and reluctant to report crimes, making them the perfect target. In general, hospitals are ill-equipped to treat rape properly and provide victims with the special care they need.

“Unfortunately, there is very little support for men and boys who are attacked. But even so, you can come forward, open a case and know that we are always there to help victims of assault, particularly if it could be a hate crime,” she said.

She encouraged all victims, male and female, to report rape.