Police say the women were attacked in two separate incidents.
The first occurred a week ago when, around midday on Friday, intruders forced their way into a home and raped two women.
The second assault was on Tuesday, after 5:00am, when a policewoman and her roommate were sexually assaulted.
According to Marvin Dames, officer-in-charge of CDU, police have men in custody who are assisting them with inquiries into both incidents.
As early as Monday, some charges are expected to be handed down, he said.
Statistics for the first quarter of 2005 showed there were 19 reported rapes. This year, during the same period, there have been 14 reported rapes.
Mr Dames said police are advising women to be aware of their surroundings.
“We have an excellent partnership programme in place where the police are working in conjunction with all the relevant agencies, such as Social Services, the Ministry of Health and the Crisis Centre.
“We have been working together on sexual-related matters for a long time and we continue to build on that relationship.”
Director of the Crisis Centre, Dr Sandra Dean Patterson, said she does not believe there are a lot of rapists in the country.
However, she feels there are men who look for situations where they can take advantage of females, whether it be a child or a woman in her 70s.
“If you can’t be safe in your own home, what does that do? I think this a serious wake-up call for all of us.”
Dr Patterson stressed that women should not be afraid in their own country.
“Every time that any woman or any child is raped, it puts all of us in fear. How many women do we hear talk about not feeling comfortable leaving their homes at night and when they leave work they go straight home and that is it? We cannot continue to live like this,” she said.
She explained that sexual assault deprives the individual of their sense of safety and their whole world changes for them.
They have problems sleeping, eating and it is hard for them to get the memory of the event out of their minds.
Further explaining the trauma a rape victim can go through, Dr Patterson said women feel they are “seeing the rapist in every man”, when they are either walking or driving around.
She said women should not have to live under these circumstances.
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A victim of sexual assault does not have to be paralysed by the event, stressed Dr Patterson.
She said it is important they receive psychological help to get through the experience.
“It does not have to paralyse them and it does not have to be the end of the world for them. There is healing and you can move out of it. During that initial period they really need to get some help,” she said. The Crisis Centre 24-hour hotline is 328-0922.
By TIFFANY GRANT Tribune Staff Reporter
