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AZT for all rape victims
Patrick Leeman. The Independent on Saturday, 28 September 2002. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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From Saturday, rape victims in KwaZulu-Natal will be given free antiretroviral drugs provided they report to centres specifically designed to deal with crisis within 72 hours.
The official announcement by the provincial Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize, comes after months of confusion as to where free drugs were attainable and who was able to dispense them.
The proactive stance by the province follows a cabinet announcement earlier this year that free post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) would be offered to rape victims in South Africa.
The government's turn-around came after horror statistics showed that the country was becoming the rape capital of the world. However, because of delays in setting up proper counselling and testing facilities, the process in many provinces has been slow in coming to fruition.
Venues which will treat such cases with immediate effect include provincial hospitals which have medical or surgical casualty departments; out-patients departments which offer emergency services and normally attend patients who have suffered rape or sexual abuse; and all large community health centres in the province.
Welcoming the stance, Barbara Kenyon, founder of a nationwide rape intervention programme known as GRIP, said KwaZulu-Natal's "committed approach" to assisting those who suffered the agony of rape should be an example to the country.
This lifeline to rape victims comes after years of protest, lobbying and condemnation of the country's lack of emergency treatment for rape survivors, many of whom contract Aids as a result of the attack.
The issue came to a head last year when Northern Cape Health Minister Elizabeth Dipuo Peters condemned doctors at Kimberley Hospital for prescribing and administering the antiretroviral medication AZT to a tiny rape victim who had been sexually attacked by nine adult males.
Mkhize said the PEP given to those who had been raped consisted of tablets and capsules of AZT and 3TC. A syrup mixture for child victims of rape and sexual assault would be available from next week, he said.
Patients would be counselled on arrival at the crisis centre, after which a rapid HIV/AIDS test would be done and checked with a further test if necessary.
An HIV-negative patient would be supplied with the PEP as soon as possible to reduce the risk of becoming infected.
However, those who presented themselves more than 72 hours after the rape would not be given PEP as it would not be effective in preventing HIV/AIDS infection.
Official statistics from the South African Police Service show that 149 rapes are reported to the authorities every day in South Africa, with some of the highest figures recorded in this province.
However, many women's groups believe the situation is far worse, with "gross" under-reporting of rapes and sexual assault.
The Advice Desk for the Abused, based at Reservoir Hills, Durban, which deals with thousands of cases of rape and sexual abuse every year, welcomed the announcement.
Founder of the Advice Desk, Prof Anshu Padayachee, said Mkhize should be congratulated for this progressive step.
She said, however, she was concerned that the provincial Health Department may not have sufficient infrastructure or personnel to cope, given the high rape figures being reported in the province. |
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