The Morning after...How to get help after Rape and Sexual Abuse

By Dr. Adepeju O Adeniran

So you, or someone you know experienced rape in the last 24 hours. Perhaps it was by someone you know, or perhaps it was an attack by a stranger.

Perhaps it was complicated by physical violence or perhaps only the threat of physical violence or worse, was used to achieve the act.

In the past 24 hours, you may not have made up your mind to tell any one, or you may have wrongly, that you will keep it to yourself.

Make no mistake about it, Rape is a serious crime and a horrific experience to have to go through, and contrary to what many people believe, women AND men suffer the trauma of rape to a similar degree.

Conservative statistics in Nigeria suggest that as many as four women in Nigeria suffer rape daily. Considering the fact that many cases in the country tend to be unreported because of the shame associated with it culturally, THESE FIGURES are most likely a lot less than what the true picture is.

So, the first thing that you, who has experienced rape needs to know is that first; you are not alone, and that help can be gotten out there.

Even better, is the fact that once you have information, it will help you get help to better resources to further help yourself.

There are many levels to the help and support that you will need for rape, this article here will only explain what you should know as regards the medical protocol, that will benefit you, in the case of rape.

There are 4 main questions that you ought to ask yourself, or anyone else in the aftermath of a rape case, and these are pointers to help you find answers.

The questions are not limited to women only and are applicable to men who have experienced rape as well.

1. COULD YOU BE TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE?

If you intend to make a report of the rape attack, as it is best advised that you should, then having your bath, or cleaning your body, in an effort to feel better, or feel cleaned of the experience is NOT the right thing to do.

This is because, you would be tampering with important evidence like sperm, hair or blood samples of your attacker that could help to make a case against him or her, and ultimately bring the person to justice.

As soon as you can get away from that situation, go straight to the police or other relevant authorities to make a report. This is also the time when you will be most likely to give a good description of your assailant,( if a stranger) because any moment later, your emotional defenses might start to swing into action and help you start to forget the details that you don't want to keep.

2. COULD YOU BE PREGNANT?

If you are unaware of what your regular cycle is, or you are not sure when you ovulate, or even what to ovulate means, then you ought to go a clinic and have a birth control medication administered to you. Most hospitals use an emergency contraception that is effective for up to 72 hours after the incident, in some cases emergency contraceptives have been effective in as long as 5 days after the rape event.

So even if you went to the hospital later than it was ideal, it is still worth a try to administer emergency contraceptives. An unwanted complication of rape after all, is pregnancy.

3. COULD YOU BE INFECTED WITH AN STD?

Another unwanted complication of rape is infection. Many people are inadvertently infected with common sexually transmitted diseases from  rape or sexual abuse.

In the case of sexual abuse, the abuser is almost always in other sexual relationships, and same for a rapist.

This means that someone who got into a sexual situation with them, must seek treatment. Prophylactic (meaning preventive) treatment with antibiotics will ensure that diseases like Gonorrhea, Syphilis and Chlamydia to name a few are not transmitted to the victim. This is why it is imperative to seek medical attention when a rape occurs.

But STDs are not the most commonly feared complication of rape. What about HIV? Well, click the next page