Booklet: The Road to Recovery – You and Rape

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The 80-page booklet is divided into easy-to-use sections on, for instance, the definitions of rape and other sexual crimes, male rape and the criminal justice system.

The book also provides a check list of five steps to be taken immediately after rape, including how to prevent HIV infection, pregnancy as well as other possible consequences of a rape:

Go to a safe place as soon as possible;
Tell the first person you see and trust about what has happened. The first person you told about the rape will sometimes be asked to go to court to support your story – this person is called the first contact witness. If this person is a stranger, write down or try and remember her or his name, telephone number and address;
If you are badly hurt, go straight to a hospital or a doctor. The police can be called to the hospital if you want to report what has happened to you. The police can also take you to a hospital if you are hurt, or they can summon an ambulance;
If you are not HIV positive and you fear that you have been exposed to HIV, you need to receive antiretroviral medication within 72 hours (three days) of the assault to prevent contracting HIV; and
Decide whether you want to report the rape to the police. The sooner a doctor examines you, the more likely she or he is to find strong proof on your body or on your clothes from the person who raped you.

The book also features sections on how to complain about poor service at police stations or in the courts.

Download the booklet in English, The booklet is also available in Afrikaans and IsiXhosa online.