The experience of an attempted or completed rape can have a tremendous impact on a person’s life.
Brenda Obath the voice on Smooth FM every mid-morning says she has lived through the horror of being gang-raped.
Having ‘lost her virginity’ at the age of 13 her story is not like any other story. She was gang-raped by 6 men at a party where she was invited to by her ‘friend’.
She revealed the details for the first time on a social media post as part of the #MeToo movement.
Brenda said:
A lot of people I know were sharing their stories online while others didn’t want to yet we had a similar story so I figured why not
Brenda said,
It is a fairly old story so it was easier to tell at least for me because I know it is different for everyone. It happened almost 2 decades ago.
During the holidays her friend suggested they go for a day party.
We got there and yes there was alcohol involved but there is so much you can drink at that age. So the girls we were with left and it was just my ‘friend’ who brought us to the party and I as she was to sleepover.
Brenda steps out for some fresh air and one of the guys from the party came out to join her telling her to finish this tiny bit of brandy.
I hesitated but he insists so I agreed. He went into the house and brought two glasses and I drunk it and immediately felt oozy. My first instinct was to find a bathroom or at least somewhere I can lay so he walked me into the bedroom.
This is where it got sketchy. She recounts being undressed but she was locked into herself. She wanted to scream, talk or move but she couldn’t.
He goes on to rape me. Then another man comes in and this happens about five times because there were six guys involved. At that point is when I realized there is little I could do so I just waited till they were done.
I heard my ‘friend’ argue with one guy saying “you didn’t tell me she was a virgin” and he was upset about it. she comes in, got me dressed and we went home.
She remembers being home and wanting to take a shower but she never made it, she blacked out.
In the morning, I took a hot shower but I was in physical pain only to see I was covered in bite marks from my neck to just above my waist wondering what was going on
Brenda kept it to herself up until the post on social media.
“The next week I walked myself to the closest VCT center and told the lady I need the test. She gave me emergency antiretroviral drugs and I never went back after three months but luckily I didn’t get anything from that bad experience.”