RCC: Survivors: Councelling & Support

Reinette and Ruth are experienced counsellors with over 15 years experience counselling and working with victims of rape and abuse, especially adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Face-to-face help is of course the best option, but here are a number of options for you to receive help before you meet the counsellors:

Email Help

You can also write to Reinette via email and ask her questions or tell her more about your story. Her email is help@crisiscentre.org.za.

Telephone Help

24-hour help and advice in English and Afrikaans from Reinette on 083 484 9409.

Support Groups

Somerset West: Every Monday night at 19h00 a group of women who are all survivors of childhood sexual abuse meet at our offices (Corner Batavia & Oldenland Road, Somerset West). The meeting runs from 19h00 till just after 21h00. Call Reinette on 083 484 9409 or email help@crisiscentre.org.za to attend.

Sir Lowry's Pass and Nomzamo/Lwandle: Support Groups are also held in Sir Lowry's Pass on Thursday and in Nomzamo on Saturday. Call Ruth on 072 493 4267 to attend.

Kraaifontein: A Support Group is also held on Tuesday evenings in Kraaifontein, Northern Suburbs. Call Vicky on 084 583 6749 or email survivors@mweb.co.za to attend.

Our first support group was started in March 2002. Any woman 18 years or older who was a victim of childhood sexual abuse may attend. Our support group is a self-help group and is based on a 12-step program successfully used in America. All literature used was written by incest survivors for incest survivors. Survivors are able to share their secrets and experiences in a safe environment. Confidentiality is central to this program.

What survivors have said about this group:

"My problems obviously started with sexual abuse and I can think about it now without my whole body shaking. That sounds weird – I know, but when I used to get forced to think about it, my entire body would shake. Needless to say I did not allow myself to think about it much. Now it is different – I have been able to face the things that have happened to me in the support group and with my counselor and have dealt with them. My whole personality has apparently changed now – I smile more and am not so serious and I am more fun to be around. The really amazing part though is that now I am sort of enthusiastic about the future. I still think the world sucks, but I am ok with being here now. I have some goals and am slowly trying to get to them."

"Incest Survivors opened their doors to me when I had reached the lowest point in my life. I remember talking, yet the words that fell out of my mouth were just on the edge of the volcano of smouldering hurts that I had been hiding away, not only from my family but also myself. My passage of growth in the programme was nurtured by the friendships that I soon valued. The patience and love that these unique individuals revealed to me, humbled me, and led me into a way of believing in myself. At times I felt as though I could not cope alone only to be brought down on my knees once more. And they were always there to gently push me forward again. Words cannot sufficiently describe what Incest Survivors has meant to me. Thank you, Reinette, and all the extraordinary people I have been honoured to befriend."

"There is help, more importantly I was given tools to help myself. That sinking feeling is still with me, but I can now use it for my benefit. It no longer has any power over me, but it has come to my aid more times than I care to remember. I now call it my alarm system, but I had to embark on a journey of healing. Rape Crisis Helderberg equipped me, they held up a hand mirror so that I could look into it and see the reflection of the little girl that was tormented all those years ago, but what started emerging is the human being that God created to stand proud in his service."

"You find an inner peace in yourself and I never found that before. In the end I realized that everyone of us are incest survivors and rape and abuse survivors who are struggling with the same thing. We care deeply about one another, we help each other! We care about each other. We share our problems and through Rape Crisis we can tell other women that there is hope! If you look at me now and compare how I was a few years ago – then you will say exactly the same – THERE IS HOPE!"

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After being raped, even if you do not open a case please: Get evidence collected within 24 hours and no later than 72 hours (the police will take you to the rape crisis centre or hospital) Get anti-retrovirals & emergency contraception within 72 hours (anti-retrovirals are free to rape victims at government hospitals) Get antibiotic medication to prevent other sexually transmitted infections Get counselling from a person trained in rape trauma counselling - it is never too late
You can get all of the above free at our office at Helderberg Hospital, Somerset West Call 083 484 9409 (24 hours a day) or 021-852 5620 (office hours) or write to help@crisiscentre.org.za. You do not have to go through this alone.
RAPE TRAUMA SYNDROME is a recognised response to rape and sexual abuse and it includes a variety of problems including various long-term consequences, the symptoms are similar to Post Traumatic Stress. Although many rape survivors suffer from the symptoms of Rape Trauma Syndrome, not all survivors respond to rape in the same way. It is important to treat each rape survivor as an individual and to try and understand what the rape means to that particular person. Coping with being raped may also be more difficult if family, friends and colleagues are not supportive and/or blame the survivor. After the shock has passed, some survivors try to act as if nothing has happened. This is their way of trying to block out the rape, because they feel that they won't be able to cope if they let themselves remember what happened to them. However, if a rape survivor is going to recover well from the impact of a rape, s/he must let her/himself remember the rape and feel whatever s/he is feeling inside. When s/he does start remembering and feeling, s/he will also start suffering from symptoms, but these usually improve gradually over time. It often helps a survivor to have counselling if s/he is experiencing symptoms that upset her/him. The effects of rape are long term. Rape survivors never forget being raped, but many learn how to deal with the memory. Studies have shown that the symptoms suffered by a rape survivor three months after a rape usually continue over the next three to four years, although they do seem to improve over time. Sadly South Africa holds the for the highest rapes world-wide. Interpol estimates that over 1 million women are raped each year in South Africa.
We want to help you to "PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER AGAIN".