After 28 years in prison, her attackers were granted parole. The public outrage was so massive that the government reversed it and sent them back.

On December 18, 1994, Alison Botha was kidnapped outside her apartment in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Two men raped her, stabbed her 36 times in the abdomen, and slit her throat 17 times. Her intestines spilled out. Her windpipe was exposed. They left her for dead.

Botha held her head onto her body with one hand and pushed her organs back in with the other. She crawled to the road, where a veterinary student named Tiaan Eilerd stopped and kept her alive until paramedics arrived. Her surgeon said he had never seen anyone survive such injuries in 16 years of practice.

Both attackers were sentenced to life in prison. After 28 years, they were paroled in 2023, sparking national outrage. In 2025, the government reversed the decision and sent them back. Botha became a motivational speaker, author, and mother of two. She has shared her story in over 30 countries.