Dr Lizelle Ann Piater received overwhelming support from the ladies in the Biochemistry department in request for panty donations for the upcoming 16 Days of Activism art installation titled SA’s Dirty Laundry.
Working in close collaboration with Soma Art + Space and lecturer/journalist, Nondumiso Msimanga, the project is geared at creating awareness around the issue of rape in South Africa, and aims to hang a washing line of 1.2 kilometres, displaying 3600 pairs of panties in the streets of the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg.
According to the project, up to 3600 women could be raped in the country based on a 2013 Medical Research Council survey; the Institute for Security Studies claims that only one in 13 rape cases are reported to police, with fewer than 30 prosecuted and only 10 convicted.