Netcare praised for helping victims of abuse

JOHANNESBURG – A prestigious award was received by Netcare, recogniZing their support for sexual assault survivors on December 12.

Netcare’s CEO Dr Richard Friedland said: “With the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children having drawn to a close, we as South Africans are left to contemplate the sad reality that sexual violence against women, children and, to a lesser degree men, remains a scourge in our society.”

Netcare was awarded the inaugural 2014 Trialogue Strategic CSI Award for the Sexual Assault Centres that it operates at 37 Netcare hospitals. The annual award recognises CSI projects in South Africa that exemplify best practice in strategic CSI. Netcare was chosen as the overall winner out of 29 entries by 18 companies and corporate foundations.

According to the judges, there were several highly commendable entries. However, while many of the projects scored highly in one or two categories, Netcare’s programme scored strongly across all areas, which included “beneficial impact”, “stakeholder benefit” and “competitive advantage”.

The judges also commended Netcare for sustaining the initiative since its launch in 1998, noting “the initiative is deeply embedded at Netcare and leverages employees and the core business of Netcare. In a societal sense, it has clearly measured outputs and outcomes, and also has a transformative broader impact”.

Dr Friedland commended the dedicated staff members and other healthcare practitioners at Netcare’s sexual assault centres who care for survivors with empathy and professionalism, helping to restore their dignity and empower them on their journey to recovery, as well as to the NGOs that are involved in the programme. “Our appreciation also goes to Nicky Baltsoucos, the national coordinator of our sexual assault centres, and Dr Graham Hutton, the advising medical director for these centres, for their leadership in driving and sustaining this worthy initiative,” concluded Friedland.