The Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC) is a non-profit making, non- partisan charitable trust of the Nairobi Womens Hospital that provides free medical management, HIV Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) and psychosocial support to the survivors of rape and sexual violence.

While the Centre serves mainly women and children survivors of gender violence, male survivors also make use of the services. GVRC has treated over 14,000 survivors of sexual and domestic violence since its inception. It receives an average of 230 survivors per month, with approximately 45% being children, 49% women and 6% men respectivel

Experience from the cases received at the GVRC show that the main consequences of sexual assault include transmission of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unintended and unwanted pregnancies, hepatitis B, psychological trauma and physical injuries.

Comprehensive care includes medical treatment, management of the physical injuries, sexually transmitted infections (STI), Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) and pregnancy prevention.

Rape trauma syndrome and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) often accompany sexual violence. Psychological care is needed to support clinical care. This includes counseling, for crisis prevention and on-going support of the survivor and her/his immediate family. Counseling is necessary for HIV testing and PEP adherence.

Most of the health care providers, law enforcement officers and community mobilizers need to be well equipped to provide a comprehensive package to the survivors of rape, hence the need of the awareness for social services available in any given region. A comprehensive network system will equip them with referral centers for legal aid, shelter, micro finance institutions and children's homes.
Knowledge of what the law says about rape and other forms of sexual violence is vital for the caregivers. This enables them to educate and inform the survivors on how they can seek justice.

Many cases of sexual assault have been lost due to poor evidence collection and preservation. It is important that care providers dealing with survivors of gender based violence and in particular sexual violence adhere to standard evidence collection and preservation.

While we acknowledge that the task of managing survivors of sexual violence is enormous and stigma on rape still remains real, GVRC helps to bridge the existing gap in societal awareness and its capacity.