Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni has revisited a powerful post she shared in October 2020 about the safety of women in South Africa, saying the situation has only become worse in the years since.
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The former Miss South Africa took to her Instagram page to reshare the post as the country continues to grapple with reports of women being killed and the growing anger around gender-based violence.
“This was a post from October 2020 and it’s only gotten worse!” Liesl wrote.
She reflected on the painful reality of another woman becoming a name on an already “agonisingly long list” of victims.
“Another body is discovered. Another name is added to an agonisingly long list and another home is broken,” she wrote.
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Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni recalls being harassed
Liesl’s original post was rooted in her own experiences of harassment.
She recalled being harassed in a parking lot for the third time in a single week.
On the day she shared the post in 2020, Liesl said a man approached her and made advances towards her. After she did not entertain him, she recalled that he told her to “f*ck off”.
The experience prompted her to speak out about the way women are often expected to change their behaviour in an attempt to avoid harassment and violence.
Liesl questioned why women should have to constantly think about how they walk, dress, travel or conduct themselves simply to feel safe.
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‘We deserve to live’
In her resurfaced post, Liesl expressed frustration at repeatedly hearing advice for women to “be cautious” whenever another violent incident is reported.
“As news breaks of more lives taken across SA and we are once again told to ‘be cautious,’ the weight of this grief turns into outrage,” she wrote.
Liesl argued that women should not have to sacrifice their freedom or live in fear to protect themselves.
“Women in South Africa should not have to pay for their right to walk, run, live, and breathe freely with their lives,” she said.
She also called for greater accountability for perpetrators of violence against women.
“Stop telling women to shrink themselves to survive. Start holding the men who kill accountable,” Liesl wrote.
Her post ended with a powerful declaration:
“We deserve safety, we deserve justice and above all, we deserve to live.”
A message that still resonates
By resharing the post years later, Liesl highlighted the frustration that many women continue to express over safety and gender-based violence in South Africa.
Her words have also sparked renewed conversation around the burden placed on women to protect themselves, rather than focusing on preventing violence and holding perpetrators accountable.
The resurfacing of Liesl’s 2020 message comes at a time when public concern over violence against women remains high, with every new case bringing renewed grief and calls for meaningful action.
For Liesl, the fact that words she wrote years ago still feel relevant is a painful reminder of why the conversation cannot simply fade away.
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