Grahamstown SAPS spokesperson Captain Mali Govender gives the following advice and instructions to anyone who has been, or fears that they might be raped.
Grahamstown SAPS spokesperson Captain Mali Govender gives the following advice and instructions to anyone who has been, or fears that they might be raped.
- If you feel threatened on a date:
- · Don't allow anyone to touch you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable
- · Be firm and clear and say No
- · Do not leave a party or social event with someone you don't know or have just met – say No
- · Ask friends for help if someone ignores you when you say No
- · Remember: most rape victims know the rapist
- · You have the right to say No
If you are raped:
- · Try not to panic
- · Common sense is your best defence
- · You cannot always defend yourself and your resistance may cause serious injury
- · If the attacker is dangerous, co-operate and try to negotiate
- · Submission is not consent
- · Try and remember what the attacker looks like – their age, race, height, hair colour, scars, tattoos, clothes, voice, jewellery
- · Scream, yell, blow a whistle or run away if possible
- · Do not bath or change your clothes after an attack
- · Keep all the evidence so that it can be used by the police for further investigation
- · Report the crime to the police straight away: go to the police station or phone 10111.
- After a rape, every victim responds differently – but it is likely that you will benefit from help.
You may feel:
- · Dirty and want to wash repeatedly
- · Scared and afraid to go out
- · That it is your fault and that you are guilty, or
- · You cannot sleep, have nightmares, cannot eat, cannot stop crying or that you want to forget it as quickly as possible and get on with your life.
None of these responses are unusual or unnatural. Remember that there is always someone to help you.
Victim support programmes, psychologists, counsellors, health care or social workers, employers, friends, family or church members – ask the police official dealing with your case to recommend someone to help you.
So what happens when you report a rape, or other sexual offences?
The police official will take your statement. You need not be alone – a friend or family member can be with you while you make your statement, as long as he or she is not a potential witness in your case.
If you later feel that your statement is wrong or incomplete, you can make another statement. You can make your statement in your own language (if it may be translated).
You have the right to copy your statement. It may sometimes not be possible to get a copy immediately, but then you will get it later. The police official will give you a case number and you must use this number whenever you want information about your case.
If necessary, the investigating officer will make sure you are examined by an accredited health care worker, who will complete a medical report and collect medical evidence.
You must make sure that the investigating officer knows how and where to contact you at all times, including when you move to another location, but it is a victim’s responsibility to notify the police official of any changes in address.
The investigating officer will let you know: when the suspect is arrested, if the suspect is released on bail, if you need to attend an identification parade, the date of the trial, when you will have to give evidence and the outcome of the case.
A victim must have the responsible police official’s telephone number so that he/she knows where to get information about his/her case. The police investigate the case and then hand it over to a state lawyer called a prosecutor. This service is free to the victim.
Both the police official, the investigating officer and the prosecutor will be able to give you information about your case. Get a telephone number from the investigating officer so that you know where to get information about your case.
What can everyone do to help?
- · Join community-based victim support initiatives; be trained as a volunteer
- · Report rape – and help others to report rape
- · Do not protect rapists – do not hide them in your home or community – tell the police about them
- · Bring up your boys to be real men – real men respect women and real men do not rape.
