Sunday, July 1, 2012

The War Rape Victims of Rwanda

Do you know that during the Rwandan Genocide, it is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 women and girls had been raped, mostly the Tutsis. Remember this happened during the brutal period of genocide which was going on about 100 days. The fact of half a million women been raped in such a short period is truly eerie and shocking! This wasn't just a one time raped. Some women open up said they were raped five to six times a day!

In a 1996 report on Rwanda, the UN Special Rapporteur Rene Degni-Segui stated, "Rape was the rule and its absence the exception. He stressed, "Rape was systematic and was used as a weapon" by the perpetrators of the massacres. This conclusion was based on the number and nature of the victims as well as from the forms of rape. A report in year 2000 prepared by the Organization of African Unity’s International Panel of Eminent Personalities concluded that "we can be certain that almost all females who survived the genocide were direct victims of rape or other sexual violence, or were profoundly affected by it".

In 1998, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda made the landmark decisions that war rape in Rwanda was an element of the crime of genocide. The Trial Chamber held that "sexual assault" formed an integral part of the process of destroying the Tutsi ethnic group and that the rape was systematic and had been perpetrated against Tutsi women only, manifesting the specific intent required for those acts to constitute genocide. Although no written orders to rape were found, evidence suggests that military leaders encouraged or ordered their men to rape Tutsi as well as condoning the acts taking place, and made no efforts to stop them. Compared to other conflicts, the sexual violence in Rwanda stands out in three ways:

·         The organized nature of the propaganda that contributed to fuelling sexual violence against Tutsi women;
·         The public nature of the rapes; and
·         The level of brutality toward the women

During the genocide, it was culturally acceptable or mandatory to stand by while women were raped. According to Maria Louise Niyobuhungiro, she recalls seeing local people, other generals and Hutu men watching her get raped about 5 times per day. Even when she was kept under watch of a woman, she would give no sympathy or help and furthermore, forced her to farm land in between rapes. Reportedly, 70% of all sexual assault victims in the Rwandan genocide are infected with HIV.

How do you think these women, the rape victims survive and face the children they bore from the brutality? And how do you think the children feel when they found out how they were conceived. This is led to the birth of Duhozanye Association.

No comments:

Post a Comment