December 16, 2012: A Rape, A Murder and A Movement.

Abstract

In 2013, the India and the South Africa offices of the Heinrich Böll Foundation embarked on a learning exchange project on sexual violence. The project produced two comparative studies which critically examined public responses to the gruesome murders and rapes of Anene Booysen in South Africa and young woman in India. Considering that levels of violence against women are high in both countries, but either widely ignored or regrettably taken as normalcy in mainstream politics, what were the dynamics and specific factors and circumstances that propelled them into national and international prominence and can unpacking this influence the development of enhanced strategies to tackling endemic violence against women?