A BIG Thank You to Computershare for their Enormous contributions and faith in iThemba. In this photo is iThemba's Director, Mr Philip Stoneman, the forensic nurse and some of the iThemba staff and volunteers, together with 200 care packs that the Computershare's CSI Committee compiled and delivered at iThemba for victims of crime.
You guys are truly special and are what makes iThemba such a success..We are growing because of your dedication,commitment,loyalty and passion!!!
Inside our Medico-Legal Section…..
One of our examination rooms with JY-26 Colposcope
Our Senior Forensic Nursing Manager ( and Trainer) Sr.Christa Rollin
State of the art forensic equipment: JY-26 Colposcope
This year started at a frenetic pace for iThemba. With the support of and partnership with a number of partners and sponsors, we have started growing from being a local centre in the city of Benoni to a regional, if not provincial centre in Gauteng.
As detailed in the report below, we have not only increased our capacity for forensic nursing to a total of three forensic nurses but have steadily recruited volunteers and have some passionate and very talented psychology students interning at iThemba whilst being trained by iThemba in trauma support. This in itself contributes to iThemba developing people in the field of traumatic stress and lends itself to a culture of learning within the organization of iThemba.
I have also had the opportunity to work closely with the local police crime prevention unit on a more operational level (meaning I get to wear a bulletproof and race around with blue lights...!) allowing me to gain a more experiential insight into the stressors that our police officers face. Hopefully this experience will enable my training team to develop a programme that will assist the police on a local level to manage their stress more effectively. I must be honest that I myself have experienced an increased level of stress during this period and even needed time off: this leads one to appreciate even more the challenges faced by our police officers who are full time in this line of work. Just last week, iThemba was fortunate to provide training to a number of the SAPS DCT North Rand trainers as well as five other psychology students.
I believe that iThemba is steadily growing into an organization that will contribute to the reconciliation and renewal of our society through our work the field of traumatic stress and the trauma support and hope offered to both individual victims of crime and communities affected by violence. The partnership iThemba has with its sponsors will truly change the lives of such victims and communities.
Thank you Friends of IThemba.
Regards
Philip Stoneman
Update on iThemba’s Progress January – April 2010 (Michelle Bellion)
The centre was inundated with cases in January 2010 (see stats), since then a definite increase has been experienced since the same period in 2009. This could be due to an Awareness Campaign run at the various police stations.
VICTIM EMPOWERMENT CENTRES
Life Line and iThemba have been approached by the Gauteng Safety and Security MEC to run the Victim Empowerment Centres on the East Rand. VEC’s have become an integral part of police stations and iThemba will be supervising 13 locally based centres. The aim is to educate and assist the public with regard to trauma and rape, to encourage improved service delivery and community building between the police and the public and to effectively support survivors of serious crime so building a sense of trust between them and the SAPS. IThemba objective is to not only support the survivors of trauma and serious violent crime through awareness and education but also to become involved with advocacy of the medico legal aspects of rape by re- training the members of the SAPS. Part of this is to establish trusting relationships whereby iThemba will offer informal counselling services to those SAPS members most in need. All VEC volunteers are to be thoroughly trained in trauma, counselling skills and HIV awareness.
HELP LINE 0861 HOPE 4 U: 0861 467 348
The Help Line has been installed and through the article in the Caxton’s People Magazine we have received calls as far away as East London, the potential of this Help Line is enormous. A comprehensive resources list is currently being collated and the call protocols and practices are being drawn up. IThemba would like to officially launch the Help Line over the 16 Days of Activism period (November 25 – December 10, 2010.).
SUPPORT GROUPS
iThemba has identified a need to reach survivors of rape & trauma in our local townships. Often after rape the survivor is not able to return to the centre for follow-up counselling due to financial constraints. We will be holding training sessions - end of May - for volunteers from the surrounding townships to assist with the trauma, counselling and HIV of these survivors. Our aim is to make initial contact by way of a house call and then subsequent follow ups to be done at their local VEC in the township where Groups will not only be counselled and be given education but also be supervised by a B.Psych. Intern, thereby we ensure that the survivor receives complete holistic therapeutic support to the point of recovery and re-integration into their community.
TRAUMA WRITTEN ENQUIRY ASSISTANCE
Through our local news paper we have asked the public to send us their questions on trauma. We have our local Psych students standing by to research and personally respond to the incoming mail. The most newsworthy letters will be published with their responses.
In our society where babies are raped and our grandparents are bludgeoned to death, we live in fear of violent criminals. Even outside of the suburbs, township residents live in fear of these same violent criminals. Yet, if one of these criminals were to be caught by the community, the street justice meted out is as brutal as the methods employed by these criminals. Calls are made for the re-introduction of the death penalty, but is that the most viable option?
If we are to change the culture of violence, is the solution, more brutal methods of justice?
Or do we, as South Africans, need to change our attitudes towards violence and determine another course of history by providing new options? Perhaps we need to look at ourselves and accept a certain amount of responsibility for the current level of violence?
How can we as a community accept responsibility and at the same time define what that responsibility is?
We are responsible if we do nothing. We are responsible if we believe that the simple re-introduction of the death penalty might be sufficient. We are responsible if we can ignore the injustices amongst the poor and impoverished. We are responsible if we believe that by enforcing the law in the suburbs only and not in poorer areas will prevent the violence, in fact we are idiots if we think that having a laager mentality will protect us from violent behaviour.
The attempt to change the culture of resorting to violence needs to be accomplished on various levels and the drive to stop the violence needs to come from all cultures and people groupings.
Attempts by the government to crack down on crime should be coupled with efforts within the impoverished communities to combat poverty, AIDS and homelessness and joblessness. Focus also on underlying problems such as learnt helplessness. Other areas that could be addressed include the lawlessness with the prison community. Rehabilitation of prisoners will not be achieved if the violence within the prison walls continues.
Changing the cycle of violence goes a lot deeper than outward changes. There needs to be an inner transformation in the hearts and minds of the members of my (our) community. Attitudes towards crime and violence need to change. The government needs to recognise the effects of violence on the general population and approach social services and social welfare organizations to assist in the counselling of trauma victims. It has been shown that where victims have received counselling and therapy and have gone on to being a survivor instead of a victim, they have been proactive in working against eradicating violence or assisting other victims of violence. The education and empowerment of all members of society as to the effects of violence on society could go a long way to changing attitudes and may bring down the unacceptably high levels of violence.
There is no short cut to changing the cycle of violence in our community, but by developing a programme adopted by all governmental, NGO’s and social welfare groups that looks at all aspects which contribute to violence and then to work towards healing amongst victims we might have a chance.
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