A victim of Cézanne Visser, 32, better known as Advocate Barbie, committed suicide in Botswana at the weekend.

The body of Jeannine du Plessis, 21, was found on Sunday morning in the Kgalagadi area, where she had hanged herself from a tree branch.

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Her mother , in speaking to Beeld on Sunday night, directly attributed her daughter's death to the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Cezanne Visser and Dirk Prinsloo.

Visser was recently sentenced to seven years in prison and Prinsloo has been jailed in Belarus for robbing a bank. He broke his bail conditions and fled South Africa several years ago.

Here's why sexual abuse causes such trauma for the survivors.

An unreported crime

South Africa is one of the countries with the highest incidence of sexual abuse in the world. However, the exact number of cases is hard to pinpoint as sexual abuse goes largely unreported.

According to a counsellor at Rape Crisis, it can take several years before survivors of sexual abuse decide to report the crime.

Young children may not understand what is happening, especially when the perpetrator is an adult and someone they trust. They may sense that it is wrong but because of the power imbalance and age difference, they feel helpless to do anything to stop it.

A secret crime
Sexual abuse is a secretive crime, often involving bribery and threats. If there is a big age discrepancy between the perpetrator and victim, the chances are great that the victim will believe the threats and therefore keep quiet about what is happening. Many also fear that they will not be believed.

It is common for survivors to blame themselves for what had happened. “If only I did this or that, it wouldn’t have happened or I could’ve stopped it” are common thoughts and it may take years before people start to accept that they are not to blame.

In order to survive, people often deny that the abuse had taken place and try to block out memories of the events. Without help, some survivors struggle to come to terms with what had happened and may develop problems such as eating disorders, depression or substance abuse.

Sexual abuse has a huge effect on people’s ability to trust others and some survivors may find it difficult to form relationships later in life.

For more information on sexual abuse and for telephone numbers of organisations in your area, contact Rape Crisis at (021) 447 1467. – (Ilse Pauw, Health24)

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	Abuse 2010/03/08 05:53:32 PM Yes abuse is terrible, it shames, it degrades, it humiliates. But, as with all things in life, you can get over it, and live a happy life, with wonderful relationships. I DID, AND STILL DO. - Marina   sex crime 2010/03/08 06:27:34 PM Maybe if the mother who grieves so much right now tried a little harder to keep her daughter out of an orphanage and took care of her as a mother should this wouldn't have happened. - The Mother?   The secret crime of sex abuse 2010/03/08 06:28:16 PM Yes no doubt her abuse was a contributing factor but I wonder the other part of her childhood - placed in a children's home - the story behind that ? - how much did that contribute to her demise - southernwrite   Jeaninne du Plessis 2010/03/08 07:15:23 PM I feel sick and deeply saddened by the cold comments above. This girl suffered more than abuse, we are talking of rape, we are talking of the biggest betrayal any girl can experience. She was robbed of trust and hope. She was robbed of her birthright for a happy future. It is wrong to point fingers at her mother today, she was raped and hurt by people who pretended to care while they planned this evil deed. I am saddened, I wish I could have told her "  Jaeninne, Please dear child  live...live."  - Gabriele   true hey 2010/03/09 07:21:08 AM Having grown up in an orphanage myself, all I can say is that this girls problems started even before going to the orphanage. How bad must your parents be, for you to be removed from their care by social welfare? What happened before she ended up in the orphanage? Of course these two losers are going to love to blame all of this on Barbie. Luckily the public is not stupid. - Poplap   stem saam 2010/03/09 07:25:56 AM Dis nie meer in die dae van die runderpes toe die boere arm was en nie vir hulle kinders kon sorg nie. Dis vandag mense!. En ek stem saam, ek sou graag wou weet hoekom hierdie kind uit die ouers se sorg verwyder is. Wat het daar aangegaan? Dit moes hectic gewees het. Ek kry die baba van die oorlede meisie jammer. Wat is haar kans in die lewe met DIE familie? Jammer, maar ek het geen tyd vir hierdie gemors ouers van Jannine nie. I know the type. - meisie
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