Chef Yuri Moodley transforms his mother’s GBV trauma into a powerful purple call for justice

Chef Yuri Moodley has shared a detailed account of his mother’s encounter with gender- based violence (GBV), marking two years since the attack and urging the public to recognise the weight of the crisis.

In a message posted on Instagram, Moodley reflected on the day that changed both their lives and explained why he now speaks out in purple, a colour that he says represents strength, justice and awareness.

Moodley wrote that the morning started like any other. He was a few hours into work north of Durban when he received a call from the family landline.

“That was odd as mum would call on her cellphone,” he said. When he answered, he heard his mother’s distressed voice. “Yo, I need you, come home now,” she told him. He said that the last time he heard that tone was when his father passed.

“My heart dropped,” he recalled. “I was unsettled and anxious, and I told my superior that I needed to leave immediately.” He drove home and found his mother waiting in the sunroom. “She was dishevelled and disoriented,” he said. 

She told him that someone had broken into the house and assaulted her.

“My body went cold, but my blood was boiling,” Moodley wrote.

He described his mother as someone who has always been gentle and caring, and said it was difficult to accept that she had been attacked “over a cellphone and a radio.”

Moodley explained that the break-in involved force and that his mother had to protect herself alone. Her caregiver was not at work that day, and Moodley himself was away.

“She had to defend herself against someone looking for an easy steal,” he said. “To this day, I know it still haunts her.

She has recurring health complications from this incident. Yet it could have been worse. It could have been rape, mutilation or even death.”

He admitted that he struggled with anger. “I sought vengeance for more than two years, and I could not complete the task,” he said.

The attacker was eventually arrested after attempting to break into other homes. Moodley said that the man even “posed like a hero for his mugshot,” something that added to his frustration.

Moodley said that the incident has reshaped his purpose. “One of my life’s most important purposes now is to ensure she is safe,” he wrote.

He added that his mother’s experience reflects what many women face in South Africa. “This could happen to our sisters, mothers, daughters, nieces, cousins, friends and even strangers. Be compassionate enough not to be oblivious.”

He ended with a firm message. “Do not ever take gender-based violence lightly. You have no idea what they went through and what they are still going through.”

He said wearing purple or changing a profile picture is not enough. “I stood side by side with someone who lived through this. She will be forever changed.”