Cape Town gym shower incident should not be 'flushed down the pan'

A Cape Town professional mixed martial artist and gym co-owner has spoken out against an apparent veil of silence about the filming of a female member in the showers at another fitness club.

Jessica Mouneimne, co-owner of Pride Fighting Academy, posted a video on Instagram addressing a backlash, in particular from some women, that she has received for speaking out about the incident on social media.

News which broke at the weekend about a respected coach and gym owner in the city having secretly filmed one of his members, a young woman, has left the local fitness community divided.

While some have chosen to speak out, others have remained silent and believe the scandal — which the coach admitted to and apologised for in a letter to members — should be dealt with privately.

Mouneimne, who has a large online following, said she felt a responsibility to use the platform to speak out.

The gym where the incident occurred has not released a public statement and the female co-owner has declined to comment. The coach, who has since taken a leave of absence, remains uncontactable.

It is unclear whether a criminal complaint has been opened.

Mouneimne said she was committed to creating safer spaces for women to train at her gym and through raising awareness.

“This is a story that’s in the public domain and affects people in the fitness space. That indirectly affects all independent small gyms where women come to train,” she said.

“The reality is that when you are a leader in the community, your f*** ups are of public interest.”

Members of the gym where a phone was found recording in the shower area received a message this week by a coach which read in part, “It is unfortunate that among us, there are those who opted to publicly name and shame using media as outlet and creating a further sense of sombreness. In the same vein, there are those, expressive in their condemnation, but still committed that their health, wellness and fitness goals be realised at the box. Let us respect this.”

Mouneimne received numerous comments and messages from people who were offended by her views and apologetic of the perpetrator’s actions. Many felt his reputation should be protected as he was married and had a family.

“All of that is valid. But I don’t see why it should be my responsibility to say about this perpetrator’s family and their reputation and their feelings when he didn’t take their reputation and family into consideration when he did this,” she said. 

“He has failed his own family but now the responsibility somehow sits with me to preserve their reputation and not talk about it?”

She was affected by the story as she experienced a similar incident five years ago that was ignored when she was victim-blamed while the gym leadership chose to believe a senior member over her.

Victim blaming has appeared in messages to her. For example, stating that the young victim chose to “ruin the perpetrator's life” despite him apologising.

“So we’re saying that a camera in a shower is not a big enough deal? So an apology is OK and it shouldn’t go public?”

Mouneimne said it was beliefs such as these that contributed towards the rape culture that is so prevalent in SA.

“It starts by allowing small acts and it escalates very quickly,” she said.

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