‘Only forgiveness can set you free'
Candice Mama, whose father was killed by former Vlakplaas commander Eugene de Kock in 1992, says only forgiveness is able to set one free.
Mama lost her father when she was only 9 months old.
But she later motivated for De Kock to be released on parole.
Mama is currently an ambassador for the Transform Education About Rape and Sexual Abuse (TEARS) Foundation.
These days she travels the world, encouraging rape and abuse survivors to find forgiveness and healing.
“When you choose to forgive, you are choosing to set yourself free from the mental and emotional prison you have unknowingly placed yourself in. You are essentially saying 'I’m letting go of the emotional attachment I have to the event that happened to me',” said Mama.
Introducing her story at the TEARS ‘1000 Women Breakfast’ on the eve of the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence, she said her story is about providing freedom to victims of abuse.
“In many cases, assault and abuse guilt’s the victim. You walk around with this incredible guilt within you, that had I not been there or had I not done this, did I do something to provoke it? There is so much stigma that surrounds the plight of many people that have experienced abuse. The shame associated with abuse is what causes so many women and young girls not to speak out”.