Durban - In an effort to ensure rape victims are attended to swiftly and timeously, the KZN Department of Health says it will be training more doctors and nurses in the management of victims.
The training will include the administration of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a method of preventing HIV infection after a victim has been exposed to blood or fluid from someone with HIV.
However, non-governmental organisations have also called for gender-based violence counsellors to be placed in hospitals alongside HIV counsellors.
The spokesman for the provincial Health Department, Sam Mkhwanazi, said although they had trained nurses and doctors to manage patients who had either been assaulted or raped, he said they saw a need to train more staff.
“It will help victims who present themselves in our facilities to get help almost immediately, as more people will know what to do when dealing with people who have been violated,” he said.
Mkhwanazi said the current procedure was to ensure that victims received medical help within 72 hours of being raped.
This was to ensure the victim was given PEP in time to prevent her contracting the virus.
Victims were counselled and tested for HIV, but only if they agreed. If a person was already infected, they were managed through the department’s HIV programme.
Patients put on PEP treatment were given an appointment within the first week to support their compliance.
“They then come back after six weeks and again after three months for a check-up. The treatment is taken for a period of 28 days,” he said.
However, Mkhwanazi said that the department was still facing difficulties, with many victims only coming to the hospital after 72 hours.
He said the department worked with the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure those who reported being raped received legal assistance.
Mkhwanazi said their plea to victims was to seek medical attention as soon as possible after being raped. “They must not bath or change the clothes that they were wearing.
“Rape is a crime and we urge people to come forward and report it and, most importantly, report to hospital in time to ensure they receive PEP.”
Sinikiwe Biyela, the director of the LifeLine Rape and Crisis centre in Pietermaritzburg, welcomed the department’s plans to train more people in the management of rape victims.
Biyela said many government hospitals did not have counsellors trained in gender-based violence.
“They... do have HIV counsellors, which is good, but these are two completely different things with different responsibilities,” she said.
Biyela said there was still a huge gap in terms of helping victims in the emotional journey of their recovery.
“What often happens is that the patients are tested for HIV and if they are negative, are put on PEP. But during that time they are traumatised and the danger of that is, because of depression, sometimes victims stop taking PEP, which is extremely dangerous,” she said.
“HIV counsellors are unfortunately not trained to deal with the emotions that come after the ordeal, and they are the ones who are mostly found in hospitals,” she said.
Biyela said weekly visits to gender-based violence counsellors were crucial in supporting victims to stay on their PEP.
Biyela said the Thuthuzela Care Centres provided an integrated response to violent sexual acts. The centres are in operation in public hospitals in communities where the incidence of rape is high.
Nomvula Shale, director of Siphila Ngomusa, a non-profit organisation,
said requiring victims to open a case before getting PEP was hindering the fight to prevent HIV infection.
Daily News
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