Reporting a rape can be a deeply traumatic process for a rape survivor. Many survivors fear being judged, as the result of the recurring rape myths in our criminal justice system. A lack of sensitivity from service providers, greatly increases the risk of survivors experiencing secondary trauma.
2016 celebrates 40 years of supporting rape survivors Because I’ve been here for 20 of those 40 years, I can’t let the occasion go by without offering thanks to those that helped us get here. Thanks to those who founded this organisation, and all our previous directors. Thanks to past and present members of staff, […]
[Pic: “Women who get drunk are not asking to be raped. A person that is too drunk might be incapable of consenting to sex; sex without consent is rape – and no one asks to be raped. #MythSmashing”] Not only is this socially complex, but even the legal position can be quite complicated. In the below […]
Rape Crisis, as part of its Making Change programme, intends to hold government accountable for the promise of specialised sexual offences courts. We believe these courts are key to increasing reporting rates and conviction rates for rape, while decreasing the secondary victimisation of rape survivors. We recently introduced some of our volunteers and community members from […]
If you are a woman in Cape Town you must feel very vulnerable. The recent spate of rapes and rape homicides that have struck at the heart of several quite diverse communities shows that there is no place safer for women than any other. You could be running in the Tokai forest, or close to […]
I live less than a five minute drive away from where Franziska Blöchliger was raped and murdered. I drove past Tokai forest on the day that it happened. I saw security personnel gathered around the entrance near to where her body was found. By the following day it was in the news. As I watched the […]
Whether you are a crisis counsellor working with survivors full time, a friend of someone who has been traumatised, or are simply overwhelmed by the mass of terrible realities that filter through your newsfeed every day, you are vulnerable to vicarious traumatisation (VT). What is Vicarious Traumatisation? VT is a stress reaction experienced by those […]
Last week #RapeatUCT, a mass meeting hosted by UCT Survivors, brought students and staff members together to unpack the university’s systemic rape culture. The meeting was in response to the four incidents of rape that occurred around the Rhodes Memorial area from December 2015 to February 2016. On the 6th of February UCT management sent […]
February is an infamous month with respect to the perpetration of violence against women in South Africa. This February marks three years since Anene Booysen, a 17 year old girl from a rural town in the Western Cape, was raped, disemboweled and left for dead. This February also marks three years since the death of […]