Rape & Sexual Assault

Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent.

Statutory Rape: occurs when someone commits an act of penetration with a child between the ages of 12 and 16 whether or not they concent (if both people involved in this are under the age of 16 there may be a decision not to prosecute)

Incest: With or without consent, it’s a crime to sexually penetrate blood relations (mother, sister, brother, father, first cousins, aunts and uncles) or to penetrate adoptive relations.

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence occurs when your abuser subjects you to any of the following forms of abuse:

  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Emotional, verbal & psychological abuse
  • Economic abuse
  • Intimidation
  • Harassment
  • Stalking
  • Damage to property
  • Any other controlling or abusive behaviour

Always have a safety plan against Domestic Violence to help me avoid or minimize any violence against me, because I may not always know when violence will occur.

Your safety plans should include:

HIV & AIDS

What is HIV?

HIV stands for “Human Immuno-deficiency Virus”.  This virus slowly damages a person’s immune system.  The immune system protects the body against infections and diseases.  One way of thinking about the immune system is to see it as the body’s army – it’s job is to defend the body from attack by germs and other dangerous organisms.  A virus is like a germ.  It attacks people’s cells and causes diseases.

What is AIDS?

HIV leads to AIDS.  When a person’s immune system has become so weakened by HIV that it cannot fight off infections anymore, we say that a person has developed “Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome” or AIDS.  Opportunitic infections (illnesses that take advantage of the body’s weakened immune system) include thrush, tuberculosis (TB), skin rashes, shingles and others.

What's on at GRIP

  • A Teddy A Day

    Every month Barbara drops off 20 little teddies at GRIP, from where they are distributed to young victims of rape and abuse all over the province. After reading an appeal for knitting assistance in the Lowvelder in May last year, she said to herself, “I can do this.”

  • Local Suzuki branch wants teddies for GRIP

    Suzuki Nelspruit has made it its mission to collect 1000 teddy bears for GRIP Nelspruit from now until the end of the year.

    It will ask for donations of new bears or a R10 donation at all the events at which it has a presence during the next few months.

    The bears and financial contribution will be used to make up the care packages that GRIP uses as part of its counselling programme for victims of rape and domestic violence.

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