Nancy Shukri Promises To Look Into Crisis Centre Procedure On Rape Cases
Twitter user claims rape victim initially denied access to a One Stop Crisis Centre.
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Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Nancy Shukri, has replied to the recent report of a rape victim allegedly not getting all the help she needs from an unnamed hospital.
She thanked the person who shared the ordeal and said that she will verify the current procedure regarding the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC).
The OSCC is a service centre established in all Emergency and Trauma Departments (ETD) of government healthcare facilities to manage the survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and neglect.
She also said that this procedure is crucial to protect the well-being of victims, considering the trauma and vulnerability they had to go through.
Thank you for shedding light on this issue. I will make sure to verify the current procedure regarding OSC. Personally, I strongly feel that it is crucial for procedures to prioritize the well-being of victims, considering the immense trauma and vulnerability they experience. https://t.co/NgMhuhmKT6
— Nancy Shukri (@NancyShukri) July 6, 2023
Rape victim denied medical exam due to no police report
Nancy was responding to a series of Tweets by @serenespaghetti. In the thread, she said that she received a call from a friend on 5 July, saying that another friend was raped and they didn’t know what to do.
She decided to help them out and called the Women’s Aid Organization (@womensaidorg) to ask for help. They told her that the victim needs to go to a nearby hospital as soon as possible for a medical exam, specifically for a rape kit.
They mentioned that the victim needs to go to the emergency zone and ask to be taken to the OSCC where there will be doctors, police officers and psychologists who can help.
But when the said victim was brought to the hospital that night, the staff there denied them entry into the OSCC because they didn’t have a police report. They were told to make a police report at the police station first and only then can they come back to the hospital.
Not being there to help psysically, Serene had to argue over the phone with the hospital staff to let the victim see a doctor for a medical exam as precious time would be wasted and evidence could be lost. The victim was then allowed to go in.
However, the victim allegedly didn’t receive an immediate medical exam, but was just given an emergency contraceptive and antibiotics for potential STDs. There were also no police officer or psychologist present.
Serene said that the entire experience was frustrating and exhausting. She reitereated that most people were told to not shower or clean themselves up after a rape incident to preserve the evidence on their bodies.
With that being said, she questioned if the victims should waste time being sent back to the police station to recount their traumatic experience before they could receive medical attention.
She also questioned the purpose of a One Stop Crisis Centre if victims were asked to go to multiple places to receive help. The tweet went viral and garnered 545K views at the moment of writing.
Trigger warning: Rape
— serene (@serenespaghetti) July 6, 2023
Last night someone called me for help with their friend who was raped. Clueless on what to do, I called @womensaidorg. The person on the phone instructed me that the victim should be brought to the hospital as soon as possible for a medical exam. 1/
In this case, one user from the comment section pointed out that this is not due to the faulty OSCC procedure, but the hospital staff at hand during the incident.
As @natasyajack revealed, the OSCC procedure clearly states that if a victim doesn’t have a police report yet, they should not have been sent to the police station to make a report. Instead, they should make a police report at the OSCC itself or fill in a Borang POL59 if a police report there is not readily available.
hi! just to share that this is definitely an incompetence or lack of training from the hcw/hospital staffs side! this is what the official protocol of OSCC from MOH looks like. u could see that multiple times were emphasized that ‘survivors are NOT be sent to the police station’ pic.twitter.com/hJZj6aXV9r
— natty (@natasyajack) July 6, 2023
Several people in the comment section wanted Serene to disclose the name of the hospital so that proper action can be taken. However, Serene declined citing safety concerns.
However, she ensured that the details were made known to the relevant authority, such as Nancy.
Thank you, YB. The protocols look great on paper but the implementation is poor. Hospitals and police don’t seem to know what the proper protocol is. I will not publicly disclose the exact hospital as I do not want it to be traced back to the victim, but I was told you are aware. https://t.co/WIvU7hrNrw
— serene (@serenespaghetti) July 7, 2023
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