'4 Zim men raped in 3 months'

At least four men were raped by women between January and March, according to statistics at the Adult Rape Clinic (ARC) in Harare.

Twenty-one men were raped last year and were attended to at the ARC.

The number of male rape survivors does not compare to that of women that remains high.

Between January and March, a total of 85 women in Harare were raped and attended to at the ARC, while 72 women were raped in Harare during the same period last year.

Ginny Lliff, ARC board chairperson, said men emerge too traumatised from the ordeal.

"Men are raped by women and they come here to receive our services that include post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)," Lliff said.

The clinic offers a number of services to rape victims including treatment of injuries, pregnancy testing and administering emergency contraception, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing and counselling and administration of PEP, medico-legal examination and collection of forensic evidence, affidavit completion, psychological care counselling and follow up care.

A total of 221 survivors of rape were attended to in 2013 but only 84 presented themselves within 72 hours. A survivor of rape is supposed to be seen within 72 hours so that he or she can be tested and if HIV negative, be administered with PEP to curtail the chances of HIV transmission.

Lliff said the police were usually the first port of call for rape survivors, and the police officers should encourage and assist them to seek medical care, if possible within the 72-hour management window for collection of forensic evidence and administration of PEP and emergency contraceptives.

Since its inception on March 9, 2009, ARC has trained about 200 police officers from the Victim Friendly Unit in handling survivors of rape in a sensitive and friendly manner.