Punjabi-origin rape survivor sets up London clinic for sexual-assault victims
LONDON: Pavan Amara, a Punjabi-origin rape survivor who gave up her anonymity and set up a charity to help others, on Friday launched Britain’s first maternity clinic, in collaboration with a London hospital, for women who have been victims of sexual assault.
Amara, whose family has roots in Punjab, had launched the NGO ‘My Body Back’ in August 2014, which has been running a cervical screening clinic in the St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London since then.
The new maternity clinic that opened at the Barts Health NHS Trust in Whitechapel is expected to be replicated in other parts of Britain. The clinic is run by Amara, consultant midwife Inderjeet Kaur, and obstetrician and gynaecologist Rehan Khan.
The NGO said: “Women have often told us how isolated they felt throughout pregnancy and labour, and how it had triggered memories and flashbacks of being raped in the past”. It said it had been approached by email by women from various countries.
Britain’s latest crime figures show that there was an increase of 21% in sexual offences recorded by the police in 2016, compared with the previous year (106,378 offences); this includes a 22% increase in rape and a 20% increase in other sexual offences.
Both clinics run by the NGO seek to work sensitively with women, so they feel safe, relaxed, and their individual needs are met, including extra care for antenatal support with specially-trained midwives, psychologists and paediatricians.
Women can refer themselves to the maternity clinic by emailing the team to make an appointment, and do not have to explain details of their experience unless they want to.
The NGO said the service for rape survivors is integrated in the maternity ward of the London hospital, but had created a different birthing pathway to ensure patients receive tailored, sensitive care.