sexual violence

One appalling thing that happens during conflicts of today is that rape and sexual violence is used as a weapon against communities. In some countries rape has become commonplace and in some cases girls are abducted by soldiers and forced to become ‘wives’ or sexual slaves.

The effects of this form of abuse include the physical, as the victims face pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS and internal damage, as well as the psychological.  The shame and social stigma attached to the experience can lead to social exclusion, emotional distress, an unwillingness to get help from a doctor and even suicide

Sexual Violence in DRC 

Women in DRC don’t have the same rights as men and don’t always get treated fairly. There is a lot of violence against women, including sexual violence. Sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war against women and girls by most forces involved in the conflict in the DRC. It is not possible to say exactly how many women have been victims as many women are scared that their attackers will get revenge on them if they speak out or that their communities and families will reject them. There is a lot of dishonour attached to being raped in DRC.

Child victims of sexual violence have been reported as young as five years old; the psychological, physical and social effects can be impossible for children to ever recover from.  Young girls who are raped find it really difficult to marry later in life as there is a huge amount of shame and stigma attached to rape.  Many women and girls are rejected by their families, especially if they end up pregnant and because of the strong social stigma many victims do not seek medical help. Many women are killed or receive terrible injuries during these attacks.

Rape and violence against women was originally used by soldiers as a way of humiliating the enemy. The men who do this almost never get sent to jail as many women never tell anyone and because of the prevailing climate of impunity. The effect of all this is that women are being hurt and damaged and the peace process is made all the more difficult.

Violence & Abuction in Uganda

The abduction of children was a big problem in Uganda. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) abducted literally thousands of girls and women, some as young as 8, where they were trained as soldiers, and are forced into domestic and sexual slavery.

Life after abduction was hard and traumatic. While in captive they had to obey all of the commanders and were expected to take part in horrific activities, including the abduction of other children, village raids and they were even expected to kill their own friends and family.

Young girls often ended up being domestic servants where they worked long days doing strenuous work. The LRA doesn’t have a practice of raping young girls. Instead they wait until they are around 14 to make them ‘wives’ of the commanders. From this point on the girls experienced rape, unwanted pregnancies and were at risk form catching STDs, including HIV/AIDs. These girls also experienced violence at the hands of the men around them.

If the girls became pregnant they were at risk from the dangers surrounding delivering their babies without medical help. They also then faced the problem of feeding their babies when they themselves didn't have enough food or water. Although being a wife brought the girls some protection from violence and some privalages over the other girls, if their ‘husband’ died they were then open to all the same physical and sexual risks.

Girls who have been abducted as wives and/or servants often find it hard to get back into normal society if they are released or escape. Living through fighting, war, brutal bush life and sexual violence often makes it difficult for them to be accepted by their families and communities. It is especially difficult if they have lost their parents or homes and if they try to return with children of their own. There is a lot of shame attached to under-age and unmarried sex, even if it happened by force.

It doesn’t help that a lot of communities are living with painful memories of losing their homes and families and they may view the returning girls as being part of the reason for their suffering. All of this makes it really hard for these girls to build a life.