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Appalling rape after-care in Gauteng

Rape survivors not getting adequate after-care service

The quality of the current after-care service offered to rape survivors at medico-legal clinics in Gauteng Province is appalling and thus fails to prevent secondary/ additional victimization of survivors.

This was revealed by provisional results of research conducted by the Medical Research Council's Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme and the Institute for Social and Health Sciences at Unisa.

According to Ms Shahnaaz Suffla, Principal Investigator, while it appears that the medico-legal system is increasingly engaged in developing and improving service provision at district and regional levels, the situation is still dire.

During the evaluation interviews were held with rape survivors, service providers, district and regional hospital managers, relevant stakeholders from the provincial department of health, social workers, NGO's providing counseling to rape survivors and the police.

"Minimum standards of care are not being met, with problems of access, charges of insensitive treatment of rape survivors, incompetent documentation of medico-legal evidence, lack of resources, inadequate training, disparities across clinics and weak inter-sectorial collaboration being the leading concerns affecting the quality of care provided to rape survivors," she said.

For further enquiries please contact Mr Vincent Moaga-MRC Media Liaison on (031) 204-3625