Tears Foundation

We would like to invite you to partner with us is assisting with the Tears Foundation COMFORT BAG initiative: 

But before you decide, imagine this:

A woman has been viciously raped and left for dead. If she is able to call for help, she is taken to a medical facility. When the medical professional arrives, the victim is requested to remove all clothing. The clothing, including underwear, is removed and placed into an evidence bag. This clothing will not be returned to the victim. The victim’s body, the crime scene, is being analysed, notes of the injuries, bruises, cuts, mucosal tearing are made and entered onto a J88 form, which will later be used in court and also form part of the investigation.

When the police arrive at the hospital, the evidence (clothing) is handed to them. A form is completed as part of the chain of evidence and a rape kit is presented. When a police officer arrives, the victim’s body is once again put under a magnifying glass in the search for any DNA that might have been left by the perpetrator. Swabs taken from inside her vagina, her mouth, under her nails and in her hair are all documented.

At this point, the victim has no clothes, she feels dirty, ashamed and humiliated. She has been stripped of all dignity and she is surrounded by people she doesn’t know.

While we can’t all offer comfort in person, there is something we can do. We can send our support and love from where we are, in the simplest way – by packing comfort bags that will be given to rape victims, in their hour of need.

These packs provide a rape survivor with essential items such as soap, facecloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, body lotion, new underwear, a bottle of water, a sweet or a note of encouragement. When you have no clothes, underwear or personal items, receiving a “Comfort Bag” provides enormous comfort. This bag is given to show that someone cares and is thinking of her, even though she feels so alone. It helps to give back some of the dignity and respect that has been so violently taken away.

The children’s packs are sadly, in high demand, due to the increase in the number of child rapes.

Baby rescue bags are also urgently needed. Due to the recent increase in pregnancies among our youth, babies are being abandoned! Newborn babies are being dumped in bins, wrapped in a plastic bag and left in the veld. The Tears Foundation works with police stations who are dealing with these abandoned babies. Their staff have been trained to change nappies, feed and provide basic care for new-born’s until finding these precious babies a place of safety.