Tara Roos@tarathinks
A few days ago, I tweeted that I think the DA will lose its majority in the City of Cape Town. That opinion has resulted in me receiving thousands of DMs containing rape and death threats from DA members/supporters.
You are welcome to disagree with my opinion. If I am wrong, I am wrong. But threatening me with sexual violence because you disagree with my view is disgusting.
In addition, I have been threatened with having my job as a journalist made “difficult”. I have been told I will not be given comment when I ask for it and that my editors will be contacted and pressured to remove me from stories.
This is a tactic many of my colleagues warned me about. I have told me to avoid talking about the DA altogether because of threats like these.
Twitter is not journalism. My journalistic integrity is measured by the articles I write, not by the opinions I share on social media. A tweet is not a news article. I did not publish a piece of reporting; I expressed an opinion.
In a country where GBV claims the lives of hundreds of women yearly and has been declared a national crisis, it is completely unacceptable that I am receiving rape threats for expressing a political opinion. This is not simply another aspect of my job. While threats and attacks against journalists are sadly common, nobody would be threatening me with rape if I were a man.
I will not be silenced because I expressed a view.
In 2023, I publicly stated that I believed the ANC would lose its majority in 2024. Many people disagreed with me, but I did not receive a single rape threat from ANC members or supporters.
I do not speak about the DA more than any other political party. Analysing political parties is literally my job as a political analyst. What disgusts me is that in a country with constitutional protections for freedom of expression, a young woman can be threatened with rape and violence simply for making a political prediction.
Disagree with me if you want. Argue with me. Tell me I am wrong. But do not threaten my safety because you dislike my opinion.
