One of the women I work with phoned me to tell me her daughter had been raped. What I found the most difficult to deal with was the apathy of the authorities. She was told by the police to phone them if she saw the rapist again and when she did, there was no answer.

The time has come to have rape crisis centres that are accessible 24 hours a day where medical; legal as well as counseling services are available. Not only are centres like this needed, but also a publicity campaign to make women aware of the help that is available. This information is not being passed on by the police.

Do you by any chance have the names and contact details for organisations that offer assistance to victims? I would like to contact them to discuss the possibility of setting up this sort of thing.

Thanks a lot

tracey

SpeakOut! There are 24 hour rape crisis centres in every major centre of SA and some of the smaller towns. Some are at hospitals, others are at police stations. None are run by NGOs. You and her need to push the police harder to arrest this man - why are they not doing anything? You can also complain in writing to the Independent Complaints Directorate, look up the number for your town in the telephoe directory. But I would certainly push the police at highest levels to make an arrest, without that no amount of counselling will help this child feel safe. Was she put onto ARVs to prevent HIV? Surely she was taken to a hospital after the rape? If you look into our search engine you will find many, many organisations that help rape survivors - but please, help this child first. SpeakOut!

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