It could have been you...

Chatting to my assistant at work this morning, and she was telling me about a project that her church, The Florida Lake Adventist Church, are working on - a presentation this week-end about Rape. Sexual Violence in our country is rife – in fact we are probably one of the highest ranked countries in the world. The South African police have estimated that every 36 seconds, a woman is raped. The sad part is that many of these "women" are only little girls, some of them babies and the frightening part is that so little is done about it. The perpetrators seem to get away with it, time and time again. Perhaps, because so many of these crimes are not reported, often due to fear of victimisation.

It breaks my heart to think of the fear, the hurt (emotional), the pain (physical) and sheer horror of a crime like this.

The ladies in the church are collecting "Victims Packages" and have each put a package together, which will be delivered to various police stations, and handed out to victims once reporting their situation. Such basic necessities that could make a massive difference to someone suffering the trauma. I have no doubt it would never ease the pain, but might just give them back a tiny bit of dignity.

Victims Package

• Bath Soap
  
• Face Cloth
  
• Underwear (small, medium or large)
  
• Body Lotion
  
• Toothpaste
  
• Toothbrush
  
• Brush / Comb
  
• Sanitary towels
  
• Packed in a pretty toiletry bag
  

Might be a nice idea for a group of ladies, like a book club, to get together and deliver some packages to their local police station. I've sponsored one – will you?