Rape survivors need a particular kind of support after someone has raped them.
They are traumatised, they need medical attention and they want to know they won’t be harmed again. To help Rape Crisis deliver a service that offers counselling, support and advice at exactly the moment when survivors need it most we need you to act.
Even if you don’t report the rape, you still have the right
to free treatment to prevent HIV within 72 hours of the rape.
Do this as soon as possible.
It may be very difficult for you to tell someone what has happened to you, but it’s important because this person can support your story and back you up in court.
There might be hair, blood or semen on your body or clothes that can be used as evidence of the rape.
Go straight to a hospital, community health centre or doctor.
If you want to report the rape, go to the police station nearest to where the attack took place as soon as you can. Ask a friend or family member to go with you for support. Keep the name of the police officer in charge of your case and your case number.
You and Rape is the essential guide for rape survivors – providing insight into how to overcome physical and emotional injury, to practical advice about laying charges and the criminal justice system.
If you fear retribution or intimidation by the rapist/s, make sure the police are aware of this and ask that the rapist/s be not allowed out on bail.
A doctor will examine every part of your body to find and collect samples of hair, blood or semen. This is part of the police investigation to gather medical evidence of the crime.
Ask for pamphlets or booklets on rape and the number of a local counselling service to give you further support and advice about the police matter, court case and any other effects of the rape.
Whether or not you want to lay a charge, make sure that within 72 hours you take:
One of the rapists threatened to kill me if I didn’t cooperate. Although I was not physically hurt, I was so traumatised that I had difficulty functioning normally for a long time afterwards.
At that time I was a political activist and well aware of how inhuman most of the South African police were. The idea of reporting what had happened to me was out of the question.
I sought medical help and received an antibiotic injection in case I had been exposed to an STD (the AIDS virus was not around then). I was extremely emotionally disturbed. My moods swung from almost paralysing depression to manic hyperactivity. I was hyper vigilant and suffered panic attacks. I decided to see a psychiatrist, who gave me tranquilizers. There was no trauma counselling.
My relationship with my parents was bad and I knew I would get no support from them. Apart from a few friends who I told, I struggled on alone. I was in such a bad state that I nearly committed suicide.
Continue ReadingRape Crisis is committed to finding lasting solutions by:
Communities with high rape statistics can find solutions. Rape Crisis runs projects to promote awareness and safety, and supports community actions that address high rape rates.
Our schools programme helps build role models and leaders capable of influencing attitudes towards violence and rape.
We seek improvements within the Criminal Justice System, as well as on the level of law reform and policy making.
Over the past 10 years, Rape Crisis counsellors have gathered anonymous statistical data which allows us to identify trends.
Secure online payments are powered by Virtual Card Services, a certified Verified by Visa and Securecode payment gateway that has been serving South Africa since 1996.
