Research knowledge base for GBV questions, methods, and service pathways
This is now a research knowledge base rather than a simple FAQ. Search across the published corpus, filter by research lens, and move directly into the source material behind each answer.
Published entries
210
Curated answers grounded in public South African GBV, justice, and support sources.
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5
Entries matching your current search, lens, and source filters.
Source sets
49
Each answer stays tied to a public source so researchers can verify context.
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Move between methods, service pathways, risk factors, legal process, survivor support, and data interpretation without losing source traceability.
Methods
Study design, methodology, definitions, and how the evidence was assembled.
Service pathways
How people move through hospitals, police, shelters, courts, and referral systems.
Risk factors
Drivers of violence, vulnerability, exposure, and intersectional risk patterns.
Legal process
Rights, reporting, police procedure, court process, and legal protections.
Survivor support
Healing, counselling, trauma-informed support, and practical care for survivors.
Data interpretation
Limits, caveats, bias, and guidance for reading the evidence responsibly.
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Legal process
5 entriesRights, reporting, police procedure, court process, and legal protections.
Rape Crisis says survivors of sexual violence have the right to free medical care, counselling, and legal assistance. It also highlights that specialised facilities such as Thuthuzela Care Centres can provide these services together in one place to support a more survivor-sensitive journey to recovery.
No. Rape Crisis makes clear that opening a criminal case is not a prerequisite for accessing specialist health services. Survivors can still receive free medical assistance, counselling, and related care even if they are not ready to report to the police.
Rape Crisis highlights time-sensitive care such as HIV prevention medicines known as PEP and emergency contraception. Its survivor-rights material stresses that these options matter most when a survivor gets to a medical facility as soon as possible, ideally within 72 hours.
Rape Crisis says emotional and mental recovery should be treated as part of a survivor's overall health, not as an optional extra. Shock, sleep problems, anxiety, and depression can all follow rape, so counselling and mental-health support are part of holistic recovery.
Rape Crisis stresses that recovery is not only about collecting DNA or strengthening prosecution. Survivors also need treatment for health risks, emotional support, and a path back toward positive ownership of their bodies and overall wellbeing.