Violence Against Women
Source: allAfrica
Government has launched new national guidelines on clinical care and management of survivors of sexual violence.
The guidelines are set to standardise the provision of assistance to sexual violence survivors. Launching the guidelines on Monday, Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr Aldrin Musiiwa expressed concern over the increasing figures of sexual violence cases."District level on average, monthly, at least 15 new cases, mainly of child survivors are attended to," he said. "There are 63 districts, meaning that, monthly 945 new cases are attended to." "Though the increasing numbers could be an indicator of increased awareness raising and empowerment of children and communities to report incidences of sexual violence, this is quite worrisome."
He said sexual violence survivors should not be denied access to health services even without a police report. He urged victims to seek assistance within the stipulated 72 hours to allow forensic evidence to be collected in time.
"It is crucial that when a survivor reports to the health institution first, without a police report, the survivor should never be denied access to health intervention. This is in the best interest of the survivor's health and not to lose them within the recommended 72 hours."
"The major focus within the guidelines is around the 72 hours in view of minimising chances of contracting HIV, STIs and protection from pregnancy. In addition to that, this is a critical time for reliable forensic evidence to be collected."
He called for strengthened coordination of multi-sectorial approach to effectively assist and timely refer survivors to access health interventions, which was critical to survival and in the best Interest of the survivor to realise fair justice.
Dr Musiiwa said under the new guidelines appropriately trained healthcare practitioners were the ones allowed to fill medical affidavits of sexual violence victims as soon as possible after the initial medical management.
"It should be noted that only nurses and doctors who have been fully trained to do so can complete the Medical Affidavits." "To achieve this, alongside these Guidelines, Standardised Training Guidelines have been developed and training manuals are in the process of being developed pending trainings to be carried out beginning of 2017."
UNICEF Representative Dr Mohamed Ayoya said the National Guidelines on the Clinical Care and Management of Survivors of Sexual Violence would go a long way in providing a standard assistance to sexual violence survivors.
"The Government's work will provide victim friendly system and a multi-sectorial protocol on management of violence and sexual abuse in Zimbabwe," he said.
He also said the guidelines also served to provide healthcare providers with information to help them feel confident in approaching the care and management of child and adult survivors of sexual violence.
The process of development of the guidelines involved wide consultations with key stakeholders taking into cognisance regional and international protocols and guidelines on clinical management of survivors of sexual violence; the process appreciated the relatedness with issues of HIV, other Sexually Transmitted Infections, pregnancy and psychological and emotional trauma.
By Reason Razao and Rejoice Makurira