Concern raised over ARVs for rape victims
Publish date: 09 July 2007
Issue Number: 1863
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Labour
Rape victims may be denied access to potentially life-saving anti-retrovirals (ARVs) which must be administered within 72 hours of the attack to be effective, if they do not first lay a charge with the police or report their attack to a \'designated health establishment.
That, according to a report in The Mercury, is if a section of the controversial Sexual Offences Bill, recently passed by the National Assembly and now before the National Council of Provinces, is not changed before being signed into law. The Bill was submitted to the National Council of Provinces on May 22, but no meetings had yet been scheduled to discuss it. Chloe Hardy, Legal Officer at the AIDS Law Project, said the organisation was \'very concerned\' that the proposed legislation would \'actually limit access to PEP(post exposure prophylaxis) further than it already is.\' Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)
