/ 16 October 2016

Bhekisisa editor Mia Malan nabs CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award

Mia Malan
Mia Malan

Director of Bhekisisa, The Mail & Guardian Centre for Health Journalism, Mia Malan took home the top prize in the features category at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards Saturday night.

The annual competition drew a record-breaking 1637 entries from 38 countries across the continent, according to a press release earlier this year issued by organisers.

Malan won for her long-form narrative piece investigating child rape in a community north of Johannesburg, entitled “Diepsloot: Where men think it’s their right to rape.”

“Diepsloot has incredibly high levels of crime, rape, sexual violence and alcohol abuse. I spent five days in Diepsloot doing the story about child rape – I visited shebeens, children who had been rape and their families and spoke to police and rape counselors,” said Malan in a 2015 multimedia piece about the story.

I was overwhelmed by how widespread child rape was in Diepsloot. In almost every street that I visited, there were two or three children who had been raped, but there was little support available for families that had been affected.”

Understanding the prevalence of rape in Diepsloot

[multimedia source=”http://bhekisisa.org/multimedia/2015-10-01-understanding-the-prevalence-of-rape-in-diepsloot”]

Malan’s story led to an outpouring of reader support for a rape counseling organisation, Green Door, which was featured in the story. In addition to numerous donations, Green Door also accessed free legal and administrative help to register as a non-profit (it is in the process of doing so) and expand its services. 

Two months after the publication of the article, a United Nations special rapporteur visited Diepsloot to include case studies in a report on the causes of violence against women and children in South Africa. 

More than a year later, the nuanced narrative about life in the community – and the intersection of violence, family dynamics and alcohol abuse – continues to be one of Bhekisisa’s best read stories.

In a press release, MultiChoice Africa CEO Tim Jacobs said the competition continues to unearth some of Africa’s finest storytellers:

“The finalists are to be applauded for their courage in covering some of the stories, many of which were in difficult circumstances. Congratulations to all the finalists.”