Francesca Villette
A HUMBLE “thank you” to the staff of the Victoria Hospital Forensic Unit from a rape survivor unexpectedly led to the total refurbishment of the run-down unit.
Yesterday, construction workers and staff were adding the final touches to the facility, which handles about 160 cases a month – 60 percent of them concerning rape victims.
Marianne Tiemensma, a clinical forensic practitioner at the unit, explained how the nearly R50 000 refurbishment came to be.
She said: “Last October, a survivor visited the unit after she was abducted, drugged and raped. After the medical exams were conducted and the counsellors had met with her, she, just like all the other patients, received a comfort pack consisting of toiletries and new underwear.
“What she went through was very traumatic and she was really not in a good space.”
But this patient was different, Tiemensma added.
“Not a lot of people come back to thank us for the comfort packs. She sent me an e-mail to say how much it meant to her and that it provided her with some dignity during that period of madness.
“I asked her if she would mind if I sent the e-mail to the ladies who donate the packs. She did not mind and I went ahead,” Tiemensma said.
The ladies responsible for putting the packs together are from the Inner Wheel Clubs of Tafelberg, Claremont and Waterfront.
“Eventually she (the rape survivor) met up with (Inner Wheel Tafelsig member Maxie Christen) and the ladies to have coffee and talk about things.”
Tiemensma continued: “She told Maxi, ‘by the way, doctor Marianne wants to renovate the unit, and Maxi said, ‘oh, really?’ ”
“She (Christen) and one of her members came with their books and made notes as to what needed to be done.”
Wall paint at the unit had started peeling, the bathroom was old, dark and broken and survivors had to sit on hard chairs in the waiting area.
The Inner Wheel clubs and private donors took up the challenge of refurbishing the bathroom, examination room, consultation rooms and the garden.
Christen said her branch had managed to donate money from profits they made from selling the club’s Friends and Family cookbook.
The forensic unit is the referral place for 22 police stations, including Simon’s Town, Grassy Park and Milnerton.
After an ordeal, rape and sexual assault victims would be treated and provided with counselling at the facility.
Rape Crisis refurbished its counselling room at the unit.
Rape Crisis director Kathleen Dey said the trauma of rape left long-lasting impacts on survivors and their loved ones.
Dey Said: “Survivors that report rape, although they are by far the minority, begin their long journey through the criminal justice system with a forensic examination.
“Offering survivors support in these early interactions goes a long way to reducing their trauma and facilitating their recovery.”