I have recently met a rape victim. She has befriended me and has confided in me relating her dreadful experiences of her past, by family members.
She has kept this a secret for a very long time but now needs to deal with it. I am a very good listener, compassionate and with have good skills with people going through trauma. But I feel totally unqualified to deal with this woman's deep seated trauma.
She is a resident in Mitchells Plain, Cape Townand is supporting 2 children so her income is minimal.
Please could you assist me in giving me some organisation and pscychologists who could help with this situation.

Many Thanks
 

SpeakOut!

Cathy, there is an excellent centre close to where she lives - the Saartje Baartman centre in Athlone that deals with women who have been raped. There is also Rape Crisis that has offices in the Cape Town city centre and elsewhere; she could also called the Stop Women Abuse helpline of Lifeline - it is a toll free line if she wants to chat to someone anonymously. We're sure you are a great listener, but don't try to deal with this, it is a hugely complex issue and inadevertently you could cause additional trauma to her and yourself. She will possibly resist going to others and say she prefers speaking to you, but you really need to be quite firm about setting boundaries on this one. All the numbers for the above centres are in the Cape Town phone directory.

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