Johannesburg - One in four women living in Rustenburg in North West is raped during her lifetime.
This is according to a report released by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Tuesday.
Eight hundred women between the ages of 18 and 49 took part in an in-depth survey, with half the women reporting experiences of sexual violence or physical intimate partner violence at some point in their lives.
According to the report, 95 percent of the women raped never told a medical professional about the incident.
One of the major concerns for MSF was that less than half of women surveyed knew that a treatment to prevent HIV could be taken after rape occurred.
“There is a clear imperative to raise awareness among communities about where to access services and the benefits of medical attention after rape,” said Dr Amir Shroufi, South Africa’s MSF medical co-ordinator.
“Timely access to care can prevent negative health consequences, including the risk of contracting HIV and other infectious diseases,” he said.
MSF said that with August being Women’s Month, the report was released to highlight the high prevalence of sexual violence, particularly rape and related health-seeking behaviour among women in Rustenburg, which is well known for being the “platinum mining belt” of South Africa.
The report also highlighted the many barriers that stood in the way of rape victims receiving the quality care they require.
MSF said its experience had shown it was imperative to increase both the number of professional staff trained in forensic examination and the number of primary health-care facilities offering essential medical and psychosocial services.
“All rape survivors should receive access to comprehensive medical and psychosocial services to reduce the risk of contracting HIV and other infectious diseases, preventing unwanted pregnancy, addressing psychological distress and linking the patient to appropriate social support,” Shroufi said.
“But that doesn’t diminish the importance for all survivors to also be given the option to undergo forensic examination and to pursue a legal response to rape.”
MSF has called on the government to urgently roll out a comprehensive and widely accessible medical and psychosocial response that addresses and removes the barriers to accessing a basic package of health-care services for victims of sexual violence, both in the platinum mining belt around Rustenburg and across the country.
MSF epidemiologist Sarah-Jane Steele said the findings showed that rape was not only highly prevalent around the Rustenburg Municipality, but that opportunities to reduce the more serious health impacts of rape were being missed.
“Treatment and psychosocial counselling for rape survivors reporting within 72 hours can prevent HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy, and help to mitigate long-term psychological suffering,” Steele said.
She explained that the majority of women interviewed didn't know that such treatment existed.
“Services close to where they live are sorely lacking and lack of financial independence may make access difficult, even when services are present.”
The study was conducted in co-operation with North West's Health Department.
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The Star