Rape spotlighted at UKZN Women’s Day talks

UKZN’S College of Health Sciences’ Women in Leadership and Leverage Committee held a rape awareness day in commemoration of Women’s Month on Thursday, 8 July at the Graduate School of Business and Leadership Auditorium at UKZN’s Westville Campus. Medical students from all the Health Sciences attended the programme which hit hard on the issue of rape. Jes Foord was a keynote speaker, giving her personal account as rape survivor and overcoming trauma. Foord spoke about her ordeal and how she decided and chose to survive and look at the positive in every aspect of her life. “Choosing to be a survivor is hard. When trauma happens it’s like a big ball of poison and you need to get rid of it by talking about it, crying, writing it out till most of the poison is gone,” said Foord. A lot of people say they are scared and ashamed to report a rape, but Foord said was imperative to come to terms with it. “With a broken arm you would go and see a professional doctor, similarly seeking professional trauma counselling after rape is just as important.” “When you are raped, your body becomes evidence. We need to all work together to stop this. Once a rapist is caught, he has raped at least 20 women before, so if you don’t want to report it for yourself, you need to report it for your sisters, daughters and mothers,” she added. Dr Kantharuben Naidoo Acting Academic Head in the Department of Family Medicine came out against rape as well as the lack of quality services for rape victims. Dr Naidoo has worked closely with KZN’s rape crisis centres for the last 10-12 years and revealed that there was an alarming increase in the number of rape incidences. “The recent public outcry over the brutal rapes and murders in New Delhi, India, and in the Western Cape, has rudely awakened civil society from apathy to shock about what is regarded as a common violent act against women and children, but is often ignored,” he said. Naidoo’s experience working in the four rape crisis centres (CCs) in the eThekwini Health District (at Addington, Prince Mshiyeni Mission and Mahatma Gandhi hospitals and the Pinetown District Surgeon’s Office) has shown that despite systematic reforms in health policy, there has been no significant change in the quality of services offered to rape survivors. “Over the period 2002 to 2010, there was a 43% increase in the number of rapes reported at these CCs. Outside of these CCs, the other healthcare facilities in Durban do not provide a dedicated service to survivors of rape. This reality constitutes an immediate barrier to reporting rape, the survivor choosing not to do so for fear of being turned away from a healthcare institution not equipped to ‘handle’ rape survivors, or being referred to one of the CCs, necessitating transport in a police vehicle. “Rape is a violent crime and must be regarded as a medical emergency; survivors are often physically assaulted, with resultant head injuries, fractures, drug intoxication, penetrating organ injuries, etc. Doctors at primary healthcare level are reluctant to engage in medico-legal work owing to lack of expertise and training and the time constraints imposed by an already high workload,” he said. Dr Naidoo said an effective medico-legal system is needed if SA is to fulfil its responsibilities to protect the human rights of its women and children under international law. Umbilo police’s Captain Rakesh Premid and his team, Sgt Beverly Manqele and Kathryn Queripel of the Victim Support Centre outlined the police procedures pertaining to rape and how the VSC is able to assist rape and other trauma victims during their time of need. Captain Premid told the shocking story of a 13 year old girl who was raped twice at a park just a few days earlier. The girl’s two friends had just left and she was waiting for her bus. The perpetrator was a primary school boy with a gun. “Rape is one crime that knows no age. Breaking the silence is needed,” he added. Lesego Seitshiro, a second year medical student said the rape awareness programme was very relevant. “This is our field and we are supposed to help the public, now that we know about the lacks in our medical system, we can go out into the field better prepared. “It (rape) is happening to our mothers, aunts, sisters and brothers so is quite concerning and we have to assist not only with medical training but psycho-social well being of victims,” she said.