HIV can be stopped after being raped-Urgently contact hospital and get Post exposure Prophylisis
Many women and girls get raped and they are not aware they can seek medical attention and get anti HIV drugs to stop progression of HIV.Any woman and just anyone who has sex without being sure of their sex partner must seek help
RAPE AND POST- EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS IN
Brief analysis of Rape HIV and AIDS in
Girl
child Network (GCN) estimates that at least 6000 girls are raped annually in
At
any given month GCN rehabilitates an average of 60 sexually abused girls from
at least 3 Girls Empowerment Villages. An estimated 25% of girls GCN deals with
monthly are HIV positive.
There
is a sharp difference between an empowered girl and one who is not when it
comes to preventative strategies on rape. The girl who is empowered is well
aware of the fact that rape is reported within 72 hours so as to get Post –Exposure Prophylaxis( PEP).
What is Post
Exposure Prophylaxis PEP?
Post
exposure prophylaxis ( PEP)
When
one is exposed to risk of contracting HIV through contact with an HIV positive
person, risk of HIV infection can be reduced by means of anti-retroviral (ARV)
drugs taken over a period of four weeks.
GCN
realizes that in the case of young girls exposed to HIV, ARVs do not holistically empower the girl
child without on going support
services in counseling and clinical
monitoring it is quite evident that girl child rape survivors rehabilitated
through Girls Empowerment Villages with full medical, nutrition and peer to
peer conselling support heal much faster that girls with no such support
services.
Depending
one one’s resistance, multiple NRTIs can be taken but these could have toxic
effects which are minimal. AZT ( 200mg 8 hours 28 days ) and 3TC (150mg
12hourly for 28 days) girls under 12 years
receive this combination. Every girl child monitor and parents should
ask doctors about the correct doses. Combivir can be used and it consists of
both AZT and 3TC.
PEP
drug effects are rare but there are temporary side effects like nausea, diarrhoea,
vomiting, muscle pains, etc.
GCN, Rape and
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
Through
the Girls At Risk Support Unit (GARSU) GCN has run Girls Empowerment Villages
since 2000 after realization that though girls were empowered to break silence
on rape in the home, school, and community no justice, therapy and rehabilitation could be achieved if the girl
remained in the same abusive environments with the perpetrator. GCN’s innovative idea of setting
up four strategically positioned Girls Empowerment Villages which service a
multi- function of providing a strong referral to service providers and at the
same time ensuring that a girl is fully empowered to take up all treatment
provided by doctors, attend court sessions and register with a school.. GCN
admitted the first HIV positive and sexually abused girls raped by their own
father in 2000. Since then many sexually abused girls have been assisted
through GCN.
For
girl child rape survivors, a vaccine or any form of treatment to stop
progression of the HIV virus greatly saves the lives of girls. The first girl
who got PEP from our Girls Empowerment Villages within 72 hours was an eight
year old girl in June 2002. By end of 2004 a lot more girls in Chitungwiza and
GCN
provides emergency temporary shelter for rape survivors and is concerned about
the way incidents of rape in the country that put girls at risk of contracting
HIV are not addressed. GCN is fully cognizant of the fact that PEP is not
available in the most parts of the country and advocacy and lobby efforts
targeting relevant Government ministries are underway.
Why PEP?
It
has been researched ( CDC1997 ) that if
one is a health worker and due to needle pricking is exposed to HIV and within
a few hours of exposure and continuing for four weeks if ARVs are administered HIV infection risk is
greatly reduced. The same young girls exposed to HIV infection through rape can
also be assisted the same way reducing infection risk.
PEP
is administered to girls only when:
·
They
report rape within 72hours. At the just ended AIDS International Conference
2006 in
·
PEP
is administered through
·
There
is no clear consensus on the limit for administering PEP. Studies show that PEP
given 24 hours after exposure and continued for 28 days is more effective than
administering PEP at 72 hours and so GCN
always advises and counsels
girls, parents and guardians to ask experienced doctors.
How to make PEP
effective
·
Immediately
after rape a girl should be put on PEP. After 72 hours it is too late
·
STI
and pregnancy tests must be conducted
·
Practice
safe sex and for children minimize exposure to multiple sexual abuse
·
Take
medication as prescribed for 28 days
·
Every
girl must have follow up HIV tests and post rape counselling after every six
weeks, HIV results may indicate negative within a year after the rape incident
·
Girls
who fall pregnant should also take PEP
PEP drugs
·
A
lot of parents and girls lack full knowledge about drugs prescribed to them.
Many of them do not seek further information from doctors. It is a right to
know what drugs you are taking and what they can do for you. Healing is faster
when the mind is fully aware of medicine
being taken
·
PEP
consists of one, or of a combination of two or three antiretroviral medication
taken several times per day for four weeks
·
PEP
is not yet available nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors ( NRTIs ) and protease inhibitors.
Factors in
treatment effectiveness
Drug
compliance
For
girls in the Girls Empowerment Villages, GCN was a girls clinic where pep drug
amongst other are kept and each girl has a record of drug use no girl takes
medication in the absence of a trained girl child monitor. Most girls are not
fully aware of what happens to them in terms of drug resistance. If they don’t
take the prescribed medicine
Counselling and
girl child empowerment
GCN emphasizes to
rape survivors that there is no empowerment if a girl is not mentally and physically healthy.
GCN Future Plan
of Action on PEP
·
To
popularise PEP especially in remote
parts of the country
·
To
make GCN and other stakeholders contact accessible in case of emergencies
·
To
continue lobbying government and the donor community to prioritise PEP programmes
·
To
simplify PEP educational information for girls and women
·
To
continue supporting rape survivors on PEP
and empower them to be peer educators
·
Encourage
the media to write on PEP
Without PEP,
the window of Hope is not there
Comments
bettymakoni's iBlogs
-
My Face is Eating me Alive
Posted: 2013 June 14 | 24405 Views -
Betty Makoni urges Government of Zimbabwe to allocate budget to baby food and sanitary pads
Posted: 2011 November 22 | 5322 Views -
Betty Makoni urges Government of Zimbabwe to allocate budget to baby food and sanitary pads
Posted: 2011 November 22 | 5470 Views -
A Prostitute is a Mother And is a Woman-Poem by Betty Makoni
Posted: 2011 November 07 | 18058 Views -
Girl Child Network moving from helping thousands of girls in Zimbabwe to helping millions in the world
Posted: 2011 November 03 | 5523 Views -
Female rapists with 33 condoms versus Male rapists with 33 girl victims in Zimbabwe-Be the judge
Posted: 2011 October 31 | 26053 Views -
Valuing the Girl Child by Girl Child Network Worldwide blogger Dorothy Johnson-Laird
Posted: 2011 October 31 | 6724 Views -
Zimbabwean Gospel musicians based in UK in Leicester on 28 October 2011
Posted: 2011 October 27 | 5294 Views -
Menstruation for girls is a health issue like any other-Teach your daughter basics
Posted: 2011 October 25 | 7738 Views -
Open friendly letter to all friends and supporters of mine from Betty Makoni
Posted: 2011 October 24 | 5408 Views -
DOS AND DON’TS WHEN A CHILD DISCLOSES ABUSE
Posted: 2011 October 18 | 19805 Views -
Betty Makoni opens global hotline for women and girls to break silence on rights violations
Posted: 2011 October 16 | 6202 Views -
And she went cold..... A short story by Josiah Taundi
Posted: 2011 October 15 | 14318 Views -
Call to action-Taking Girl Child Network Worldwide to Top 12 in the world –Join us today
Posted: 2011 October 15 | 5661 Views -
Girl Child Networks thrive on good principles and values -Know them better
Posted: 2011 October 14 | 5888 Views -
Girl Child Network Zimbabwe intensifies work to empower girls –Know us better
Posted: 2011 October 14 | 41689 Views -
Mother All the way, All over, All the time-Poem by Betty Makoni
Posted: 2011 October 14 | 4801 Views -
Plea of a dying mother –Just a promise from friends -Poem by Betty Makoni
Posted: 2011 October 13 | 10001 Views