South African police officers, doctors, nurses, social workers, magistrates and other public officials have to deal with cases of rape and other kinds of gender-based violence on a daily basis.
However, says Ashwill R Bayard, chairperson of Zivikele Training, a South African NGO that Sweden supports, many officials have not received adequate training on how to work with cases of rape and sexual assault.
“This means that cases are thrown out of court due to lack of forensic evidence, leaving justice department prosecutors and magistrates frustrated and victims at a loss.”
Zivikele Training educates public-sector officials in all South Africa’s provinces in how to deal with cases of gender-based violence.
It brings together people from various state departments to give an integrated learning experience that deals with all the instances that victims may be in contact with – from police and health services to courts and social services.
Since victims of rape and sexual assault are highly at risk of being infected with HIV, given South Africa’s high incidence rates, HIV and AIDS are important elements of the programme.
“We are working with the service provider level to make sure that victims and survivors of HIV and AIDS and gender-based violence get better treatment and service at the first point of response,” says Bayard.
> Read more about Swedish-South African cooperation in HIV and AIDS