Rape and sexual assault is a global problem with far reaching and devastating social
and health implications for victims of such crimes. South Africa has one of the highest
rates of rape and sexual assault cases reported to the police compared to other
countries globally. In an attempt to forge intervention, various progq3mmes aimed at
addressing sexual assault have been developed by relevant government entities. Since
the development of these programmes, research on implementation and effectiveness
of sexual assault services in South Africa has been minimal. The absence of research
on these interventions prevents an opportunity for programme improvement and
resource mobilization that would ensure that these programmes are efficient, effective
and to ensure that it meet the needs of beneficiaries.
A quantitative and descriptive research design was used to assess the implementation
of the national sexual assault policy by health professionals at referral and designated
health facilities. The study was conducted in Ngaka Modiri Molema district in the NorthWest province, targeting nurses, doctors, unit managers and social workers rendering sexual assault services within the district. Self-administered questionnaires and checklist were used to collect data.
Findings indicated that there was no significant difference with regard to the
implementation of the sexual assault policy. There was no hundred percent adherence
to policy prescribed by health facilities, while resources were not equitably allocated to
health facilities as rural health facilities still lacked basic resources like colposcopy.
While most health professionals indicated to be knowledgeable about the service they
deliver, the findings indicated that less than 45% of health professionals allocated to
render sexual assault services are not trained nor frequently getting ongoing training in
the management of sexual assault. Sexual assault services within the district were
provided by untrained health professionals as in the whole population only one (1)
health professional had forensic nursing training. / Thesis (M. Cur) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/14329 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Masemola, S M |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
Page generated in 0.002 seconds