More women who claim they have been sexually violated by South African Football Association boss Danny Jordaan have approached former ANC MP and singer Jennifer Ferguson, she told News24 on Monday.
“These women are very courageously coming forward. It’s actually growing as we speak,” she said in a telephone interview.
“It’s not just me. I am really intent and committed to empowering these women who are sitting with scars, who leave jobs or have to deal with compulsive behaviour and harassment.”
Ferguson recently laid a complaint of rape against Jordaan.
In November, Jordaan denied raping Ferguson in a Port Elizabeth hotel 24 years ago.
He did not answer his phone on Monday and has not yet responded to a request for comment.
During a Radio 702 show in November, it emerged that two other women, who have not been identified, also accused Jordaan of sexually inappropriate behaviour.
Ferguson said on Monday that she was surprised when she received messages and calls from more women.
“It (sexual violation) becomes a kind of serial behaviour because women keep quiet, have to compromise or live with it because they have to keep their job.
“The traditional or cultural endorsement or protection of these kinds of actions make it difficult.”
“It will be my story and Danny’s story. I have stood by my story without a wall of lawyers; I have been consistent. I come with nothing and everything,” she said.
“When it comes to the court, of course, we are going in with complete conviction but courts have also betrayed before so there is no guarantee. We are not buying off judges, there is no pay off.”
‘Moral righteousness’
She recalled how the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro had been asked if he was wearing a bulletproof vest and, after baring his open chest, said he wore moral armour.
“I wear the breastplate of moral righteousness and that is how I feel,” she said.
Ferguson was preparing for a court case in which attempts would be made to shame her and discredit her character.
As a creative response to her recent disclosure, she is to perform alongside guest artists and her husband and two children, in four concerts called JENNIFER #wetoo, at the Baxter Concert Hall, from April 4 to April 7.
“Music has traditionally been used to heal personal and collective trauma. Creativity is a powerful response to atrocities. I hope that this sharing of song and stories, will empower us to speak our truth, to restore societal balance and to heal.”