Taupō GP opens special medical service for survivors of sexual assault

Dr Frances Czuba has established a Sexual Assault Medical Service in Taupō.

A new service in Taupō is offering support and services to survivors of sexual assault.

Dr Frances Czuba, a Taupō-based GP, noticed the lack of a local clinic and has worked to establish the Sexual Assault Medical Service (Sams) in the town.

The service is available to anyone over 15 years old, of any gender, who has experienced sexual assault.

While it is not suitable for people who are in situations involving current or ongoing harm, it can offer guidance and support to people who were abused as children or adults, in a one-off context or as part of a pattern over time.

Czuba said many people who experience sexual assault only feel ready to begin healing months, years or even decades afterwards.

“It’s a free service for anyone who’s experienced sexual assault, and there’s no time limit on when that sexual assault happened, so that’s great for people who are ready to talk about it now, even if it happened when they were a child.”

The clinic is free, with no ACC claim or other proof of assault needed to access it.

There is no paperwork involved to get started, and sessions are tailored to individual needs, which could involve setting up counselling, discussing mental and physical health, or working through contraception options.

“I try to make the sessions as holistic as possible.”

It is important people who have suffered sexual assault do not have to keep going over their story, so if it’s desired, Czuba said their situation could be communicated to other healthcare providers.

“I can also feed back to their GP, with their consent, about what we’ve discussed or some recommendations.”

Appointments are readily available too, with waiting times currently within two weeks.

“When people decide, ‘I’m ready’, [it’s important] to not have to wait months on end to be seen.”

Clinics are held at Anamata on Spa Rd but can also be done remotely, and the service is open to people living across the Taupō district.

Czuba said the point of the clinic was to reach people in the area and bring the help to them.

“I’m hoping that now we have a Taupō service, more people will be able to access this service who might not have known about it or who might not be able to travel.”

She encouraged people to seek help, even if they were feeling unsure if their experience met their own definition of sexual assault.

“Some people come to me and feel anxious that their experience ‘doesn’t count’ as sexual assault because it was a family member ... or the perpetrator of the assault was manipulative towards them, so they end up blaming themselves and thinking it’s their fault.

“The amount of guilt people feel about childhood sexual assault seems to really be a barrier to accessing help.

“Learning more about what happened and processing it, even 10, 20, 30 years later, can have big effects on multiple aspects of their life ... [on] the way their perceive their lives and letting go of guilt and shame.”

• To get in touch with Taupō Sexual Assault Medical Service (SAMS), contact 0210 892 4556 or tauposams@gmail.com.

Milly Fullick is a journalist based in Taupō. She joined the Taupō & Tūrangi Herald team in 2022.