Handbags for rape victims

“We have partnered with the foundation for the Handbag project. It is the first of its kind and we are very excited about it,” said the organisation’s Randburg branch manager, Dennis Cooke. The event took place at the organisation’s head office in Bryanston where handbags were handed over by members and friends of the organisation to the foundation’s representative, Denis Colley.

According to Colley, the foundation opened its doors in 2009 following the brutal gang rape of Jess Foord while her father Tim was forced to watch. Foord’s aim was to start an organisation which would improve the compassionate treatment of rape survivors at each step in the process, to restore lives after rape.

“The foundation’s handbag project gives handbags full of much needed supplies to victims at a critical point in their journey to becoming rape survivors, because they are told not to shower or clean after a rape as their body is a crime scene and cleaning will wash away the evidence,” said Colley.

Cooke said, “Our aim is to collect as many new or slightly used handbags as we can to donate to this project. The handbags will be filled with personal supplies like shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion which will help the survivor feel clean again and help restore their dignity.”

Colley said the foundation offered counselling to rape survivors at Rape Crisis Care Centres around the city where victims receive medical treatment and trauma counselling free of charge.

“Randburg residents can drop off their bags to our branch. They can go on our website to find out which other branches they can drop the bags off at,” said Cooke.

Details: Dennis Cooke 011-402-3278, www.rwfl.co.za or JFF 031-765-4559, www.jff.org.za