Press release 015/2024 of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Integration and Consumer Protection of the State of Brandenburg
The pilot project "Immediate medical assistance and confidential forensics after rape" (SOS after rape for short) is being expanded: Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf is becoming the twelfth partner clinic in the state of Brandenburg. Victims of sexualised violence who do not want to go to the police immediately after the crime, or who do not want to do so, can now have evidence of the crime preserved at the Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf for use in court without having to report the crime to the police first.
Minister for Health and Women's Affairs Ursula Nonnemacher: "It is particularly important to seek medical treatment as soon as possible after a sexual offence, even if there are no visible injuries. Many victims experience feelings of shame and guilt that prevent them from seeking help. Fear is also a decisive factor, which can lead to those affected only being able to talk about what they have experienced years later. In addition to the health risks, which otherwise cannot be ruled out, important evidence such as evidence of the offence is also lost over time if no medical assessment and subsequent documentation of the findings is carried out. The offer of immediate medical assistance and confidential forensic evidence is therefore very important for those affected."
The Brandenburg State Institute of Forensic Medicine (BLR) has been coordinating this programme in the state of Brandenburg since 2019. Institute director and project manager Prof. Dr Knut Albrecht: "We welcome the Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf as a new partner clinic and look forward to their valuable support in dealing with victims of violence and to a successful collaboration in the future. This service will ensure high-quality clinical-forensic and prompt care after sexualised violence in the state of Brandenburg. The inhibition threshold to contact the police or another support organisation immediately after a sexual assault is high for those affected in such an exceptional situation. Access routes should therefore be kept as low-threshold and short as possible. It is therefore all the more pleasing that twelve clinics in the state of Brandenburg now offer initial medical treatment and documentation of injuries following sexual offences and that this is now also possible at the Rüdersdorf site."
Dr Lucas Hegenscheid, Head of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at the Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf: "After such a traumatising incident, a safe place to go is very important. We at the Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf have been working with the law enforcement authorities for a very long time and have already provided a safe atmosphere for those affected in previous years. By joining the "SOS after rape" network, we have the opportunity to offer help and secure evidence before the often difficult decision to report an offence has to be made."
Support for victims of violence includes not only medical care, but also comprehensive aftercare. Opferhilfe Land Brandenburg e.V. is part of the aftercare network and offers psychosocial counselling as a specialist counselling centre. Based on the individual needs of the victims, those affected by sexualised violence receive professional psycho-traumatological support in coping with the consequences of the crime and socio-pedagogical support during criminal proceedings.
Susanne Ullrich, head of the counselling centres of Opferhilfe Land Brandenburg e.V.: "We are delighted to welcome Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf as a partner clinic for the project "Immediate medical assistance and confidential forensic evidence after rape" in 2024. Victims of sexual offences are often unable to report the crime immediately due to shame or fear. Having traces of the offence documented by trained medical staff and having traces secured confidentially allows victims to decide in peace whether to press charges at a later date. After the examination, victims of violence receive information for further aftercare, which can be utilised free of charge. As a cooperation partner, we support the project with a total of six specialist counselling centres in Potsdam, Brandenburg/Havel, Frankfurt/Oder, Neuruppin, Cottbus and Senftenberg in the state of Brandenburg and advocate close networking with the partner clinics."
The partner clinics involved, which offer immediate medical assistance and confidential forensics, are Alexianer St. Josefs-Krankenhaus Potsdam, Asklepios Klinikum Uckermark, Carl-Thiem-Klinikum Cottbus, GLG Werner Forßmann Klinikum Eberswalde, Klinikum Ernst von Bergmann Potsdam, Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder), Kreiskrankenhaus Prignitz, Oberhavel Kliniken, Universitätsklinikum Brandenburg an der Havel, Universitätsklinikum Ruppin-Brandenburg, Helios Klinikum Bad Saarow and now also Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf.
Further information on the topic of confidential forensics:
https://msgiv.brandenburg.de/msgiv/de/themen/frauen-und-gleichstellung/frauen-vor-gewalt-schuetzen/hilfe-nach-vergewaltigung/
https://www.opferhilfe-brandenburg.de/hilfe/vergewaltigt-was-nun/
Contact details of the new partner clinic:
Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf
Seebad 82/83
15562 Rüdersdorf bei Berlin
Telephone: 033638 83-355
Contact details of the coordination centre:
Brandenburg State Institute of Forensic Medicine (BLR)
Lindstedter Chaussee 6, 14469 Potsdam
Telephone: 0331 56 85-0
E-mail:
vss(at)blr.brandenburg.de
All boldface in the original.