By Eugenie Muchetu
Harare(New Ziana) – Rape is not only a criminal offence but a medical emergency that requires immediate attention, yet health experts say many survivors fail to seek treatment within the critical 72-hour window when medication can prevent HIV infection, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.
As cases of sexual assault continue to rise across the country, medical practitioners are urging survivors and their families to prioritise urgent healthcare to avoid life-altering consequences.
In an interview, the director of Adult Rape Clinic (ARC), Maceline Mukwamba, stressed that rape is a medical emergency and a report should be made within 72 hours at a healthcare institution in order for the survivor to access prophylactic medicines, as timely access to healthcare matters most.
“We need to assist our survivors within 72 hours of the sexual assault. This is the golden opportunity where we are able to provide prophylactic medicines to prevent HIV, sexually transmitted infections and also prevent unwanted pregnancy. It is the three days that are critical to access post-exposure prophylaxis because there’s a time limit when these medicines are effective.
“So after 72 hours, which is three days, HIV prophylaxis is no longer as effective, and the chances of acquiring HIV become high, and also the chances of acquiring sexually transmitted infections become high if people miss that golden opportunity. For pregnancy we’ve got a leeway of up to five days, but the efficacy of medications reduces over time,” she said.
Sadly, less than 30 percent of rape survivors report within the stipulated 72 hours.
“So the challenges that usually happen with sexual assault, because it’s not a violence that is obviously seen, it’s something that is usually done in private, and there’s a lot of stigma surrounding sexual assault, which hinders survivors from reporting and accessing services early, especially if a sexual assault is happening with a close relation or somebody that is well known to the survivor,” Mukwamba explained.
“The communities usually judge survivors as the ones who initiate sexual abuse. So survivors are a bit sceptical about going out to seek services because they also fear being judged. A lot of survivors delay in accessing services. So less than 30 percent of the survivors that we see report within 72 hours, which means we still have a significant gap when it comes to timeous accessing of sexual and gender-based violence clinical services.
“And this might not just be a reflection of ARC, but it says a lot about the behaviour of survivors when it comes to accessing services.”
The Adult Rape Clinic is a private voluntary organisation founded in 2009 at the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals to address the absence of dignified outpatient services for survivors of sexual assault.
Over time, the ARC expanded its operations, establishing sites in Mutare, Manicaland province, Kadoma in Mashonaland West province, Gokwe in Midlands province and Masvingo from 2020.
Of grave concern is that the majority of survivors, about 70 percent, are children and adolescents who require a guardian to assist them in accessing services.
“Because we have issues where sexual assault happens within the families, and at times it’s by the economically empowered person within the family who’s now the perpetrator, so the implications of reporting the provider of the family becomes a debate of the entire family at the disadvantage of the survivor.
Local media reports frequently carry stories of fathers and close relatives accused of raping daughters, nieces and granddaughters, highlighting the vulnerability of children within environments where they should be safest.
Statistics show a steady increase in the number of sexual assault survivors seeking services at ARC facilities over the past three years.
In 2023, ARC attended to 1 910 survivors, of whom 1 838 were female and 72 male, while in 2024, it attended to 2 697 new survivors, including 2 526 females and 171 males.
Of those below 18 years of age, 1 867 were female and 101 were male.
In 2025, the clinic attended to 2 703 survivors across all its sites and of these, 2 583 were female and 120 male while among survivors aged 17 years and below, 1 750 were female and 86 male.
In January this year alone, ARC attended to 265 survivors of rape from all its sites and of these, 259 were female and six were male, while among survivors below the age of 18, at least 193 were female and 3 were male.
“There’s an increase, but what we feel is this is not a correct reflection of the sexual assault cases that are happening because a lot of people don’t report and some never report at all,” Mukwamba said.
She chronicled two of the most traumatic cases she has dealt with during her career, the first involving a six-year-old girl who was raped by a neighbour and suffered severe injuries that resulted in a vesicovaginal fistula, requiring corrective surgery.
The second involved a 16-year-old girl who was raped by her uncle, became pregnant and contracted HIV, later giving birth to a child who was also HIV positive, and subsequently died.
“It has been a difficult journey for that survivor. Trying to cope with the trauma of the sexual assault itself, the trauma of going through childbearing, then the trauma of being identified as HIV positive and accepting the positive status and trying to live positively. The client has challenges with adherence to ART because she is not really accepting why she has to go through all that. So there are so many traumatic stories but it’s just a snippet. A child who delivers a child she does not even want to be associated with that child,” she said.
Mukwamba said many of these consequences could potentially be prevented through timely intervention but most people are not ware that a sexual assault survivor does not have to report to the police before seeking medical attention.
“No one stops a client from receiving services when they come to the health care centre within 72 hours. They need to access that service,” she said.
For Mukwamba, the message is clear: survivors should seek medical attention immediately after an assault, regardless of whether they have reported the matter to the police.
Accessing treatment within 72 hours can significantly reduce the risk of HIV infection, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.
With fewer than 30 percent of survivors accessing care within the critical period, health experts warn that many remain unnecessarily exposed to preventable and life-changing consequences.
Greater awareness of the importance of early medical intervention, they say, is essential to ensure that survivors receive the treatment and support they need when every hour counts.
New Ziana
