Voices of rape victims managed in an emergency department

Abstract

Someone is raped every 35 seconds in South Africa. Rape victims seek healthcare from various facilities, including emergency departments. The management of rape victims is guideline driven and the way in which these victims perceive their initial management is not always taken into consideration. For healthcare providers to develop their practice, the voice of adult rape victims should be incorporated. Individual interviews were conducted with 10 participants in order to gain a deeper understanding of the rape victims’ views of their initial management received in the emergency department. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. The participants voiced feelings such as; being left alone, the need for themselves to be involved during the management and the variant competencies of healthcare providers. These voiced views of the rape survivors should be incorporated in a practice development initiative to move current workplace culture in emergency departments towards a patient-centred culture.