The objectives of the protest are to:

• raise awareness about the problems of (and surrounding) rape and sexual violence in South Africa;
• stand in solidarity with victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence;
• problematise and directly challenge the silencing of the victims and survivors of rape and sexual violence, which occurs in their families, communities, and in our institutions of justice, and to therefore problematise and challenge the silence with which rape and sexual violence is shrouded in South Africa;
• encourage and enable victims and survivors of sexual violence to break the silence and to speak out about their experiences in spaces in which they feel supported;
• contribute to social change.

The RU Silent Protest grew out of the “One in Nine” 2006 campaign whose purpose was to draw attention to the fact that only one in nine women who are raped in South Africa will report the rape to the police. The RU Silent Protest is currently the biggest annual demonstration against sexual violence in South Africa and is now also hosted by other universities, NGOs, and communities across South Africa.