Instagram 'removes' post by activist Amber Amour 'live blogging' her rape

The activist tells Instagram 'you will not silence me'

The 27-year-old has 20,000 followers on social media (Amber Amour/Instagram/ambertheactivist)

An activist who posted a picture of herself moments after being raped has criticised Instagram for apparently removing the message.

Amber Amour, who was promoting her "Stop Rape, Educate" campaign in South Africa, shared a picture on her Instagram account with tears running down her face moments after being raped.

The 27-year-old said she was having a shower with a drunk friend who forced himself on her, in a post which has since gone viral.

But the picture then appeared to have been removed by Instagram, prompting Ms Amour to tell the social media giant "you will not silence me".

 

Excuse me, Instagram, WHERE DID THE CAPTION GO?!? The caption on my selfie right after the rape disappeared and I got this message from IG when I signed in this morning. What the actual hell is going on?? Since when is it against community guidelines to stand up for yourself. I would like an actual explanation from @instagram. You will not silence me. You deleted the caption documenting the rape from my page but guess what, that shit has gone viral! It's all over the Internet so whoever was behind the deleting of that honestly did nothing. Survivors of rape are called liars and frauds every day! I find it absolutely appalling that the caption was deleted. I will not be silenced. I will keep speaking my truth. #CreatingConsentCulture #AmberTheActivist #AmberAmour #feminism #feminist #humanrights #freedom

A photo posted by Amber Amour (@ambertheactivist) on Jan 9, 2016 at 4:58am PST

Ms Amour told the social media platform she would like an explanation immediately.

"What the actual hell is going on? Since when is it against community guidelines to stand up for yourself?" she wrote on her account.

"You deleted the caption documenting the rape from my page, but guess what, that s*** has gone viral!"

She went on to say there was little point in deleting the caption since the message had already been shared and read thousands of times.

Instagram's community guidelines forbid sharing content that does not belong to users, inauthentic content, nudity, spam, offers for illegal goods or services, hate speech, threats, promotion of self-harm, and graphic or violent images.

Ms Amour originally posted a picture of herself visibly distressed after the incident, and one of herself later in hospital with a rape kit.

Alongside messages of support, she said she also received thousands of hate-filled messages.

She wrote then: "For those who wish to blame me or any other survivor out there, I want you to know that you are the very reason that I am so brutally honest.

"[...] You need to know the truth and to see the reality of the situation."

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, according to the US government's overseas security advisory council.

An Instagram spokesperson said: “It took a lot of courage for Amber to share her story, and we want to extend to her our deepest apology. We made a mistake and have restored the content. We always want our community to feel safe and supported, and to be able to discuss tough topics and experiences with one another.”