Lawyer Jaladeen Abdulai, the Upper East Regional Director of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has observed that most victims of rape rush to take their baths after the incident occurs.
The victims, he said, do this to wash away the thoughts of the unwanted act. The Regional Director of CHRAJ explained that bathing after rape washes away evidence that would be key in the prosecution of perpetrators of such acts.
He stated, “you see, when somebody is sexually abused, assuming there is a defilement case or any case, and you go and bathe, there is a tendency for you to wash the specimen that will be found in your body. For instance, when the man sleeps with you and there IS sperm in your body and you go to bathe, you would have washed the sperm away.”
“Once there is sexual contact with the person, there can be an exchange of hair either from the man to the woman or the vice-versa and when they do DNA they will be able to know who actually slept with you,” he added.
He said this at the launch of a “survival fund for abused women” by the Women and Orphans Movement along with its partners.
Lawyer Abdulai while sympathising with the victims of rape and acknowledging the difficulty people who face such traumatic experiences face urged victims to help the legal process by going to the health facilities for immediate health assessment.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Bolgatanga|Ghana
