This blog post recounts the events following when the fun goes wrong
Her dad came home and we went down to our local police
station to report what had just happened to our daughter. When we arrived the
constable at the reception desk recognized her dad (he is a detective captain
in the police service) and his whole demeanor was friendly. I allowed my (then
husband) to do all the talking. They spoke in Afrikaans. The constable asked
what he could do for us, her dad explained that we were there to report a rape
and pointed to my daughter. The constable said he would call sergeant
so..and..so.. To handle the complaint and take our statements. My ex said No,
he wanted another detective to take this case. The constable looked at him and
said “Why, it’s just a little rape case?” My ex then leaned forward and said
“Because it’s my daughter”. “Oh” said
the constable, “Captain why didn’t you say so in the first place”.
This just made me think, that if I was a woman on my own,
trying to report this ‘little rape’ as he put it, how differently would I have
been treated.
The next step was to go to the district surgeon and have
our daughter examined for evidence of rape. Because the incident occurred in the Mitchells Plein area, we had to drive back there to have this done. The thought
of putting my daughter through the humiliation of having some stranger examine
her down there, after what she had just been through was quite nauseating. The
examination showed that there was a little vaginal tearing and there was proof
of sexual activity.
Then we were off to the local clinic, where she was given
the morning after pill and an HIV test. We had to endure a lecture about what
to do in the event the HIV test was positive. Thankfully it was negative, but
they informed us that it could take several months to show up and she was put on
a course of antiretrovirals just in case. To be re-tested in three months
time.
Now all that was left was for justice to take place and the
accused to be arrested.
More on the court case next blog post
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