PRESENTATION BY GODELIEVE MUKASARASI - SEVOTA - RWANDA

Female Victims of Rape in Rwanda Fight the Silence and the Oblivion

The Hague, December 10th. 2007

Let us remember that during the genocide in Rwanda, in 1994, more than one million people were killed. More than one million people were internally displaced or fled to neighboring countries.

Almost 250.000 women were raped and about 5000 of became pregnant and gave birth to children. These children are called bearers of misfortune or bad memories. They are not accepted by the families.

As a consequence of these acts, until today the women suffer from physical and psychological traumas that are difficult to cure. A lot of them caught sexual transmittable diseases including HIV/AIDS and were subject to genital mutilations.

Today, thirteen years after the genocide, the women remain vulnerable and are trying to pick up the pieces of their broken lifes.

The example of Marie.

Marie is 29 years old. During the genocide she was 16 and studied in secondary school. She became pregnant and gave birth to a child she does not love.

Her father, her sisters and brothers were killed. In April and May 1994, she was heavily beaten and raped several times by different militias and was handed over to other soldiers who treated her as a sex slave.

Today, thirteen years later, Marie takes care of her mother who was severely beaten and is not able to work

Marie has a fistula, which is not operated and is still traumatized. She has not received professional psychological help. She suffers from different somatic problems. She is zero-positive. She has begun to take anti-retroviral medication. Unfortunately she had to stop taking them because she is does not have enough food for the medication to be effective. She is still anxious and prefers to be alone.

Marie did not take up her studies. She does not have a house, and stays in a little room that a friend has rented for her. Se is not married and her child, born from the rapes, is stigmatized in the community and rejected by the surviving family members.

She participated in the Gacaca courts, without any legal defense, to testify against the murderers of her family members. She did not want to report the rape she suffered, for fear of bringing shame and dishonor to her community.

She testified for the International Tribunal for Rwanda, in Arusha, for which she did not receive any appropriate support. The militias that raped her have disappeared. She does not know the identity of the soldiers that raped her. She has not received any compensation. Marie feels guilty for having survived the genocide. She wished she died as well.

Since a few months she has been a beneficiary of my association SEVOTA that strives for the self-development of widows and orphans. She received counseling of a psychologist and participates in our Forum of women who are victims of rape and who have children that were born out of rape. In the forum she can find relieve and begin to work healing the wounds of a broken life.

Today, the media are no longer interested in the case of Rwanda, and even less interested in the situation of the women who are victims of rape. The media do not plead for the cause of these women. But the situation of these women deserves special attention.

SEVOTA, a local organization that works with 230 women, victims of sexual violence, of which 40 are raped, has prepared recommendation to end this intolerable situation:

To International NGO’s

To support the regional networks and national and local associations to:

1- Guarantee continued awareness of the community and the authorities on the ground

2- Guarantee effective psychological assistance for the victims of sexual violence

3- Guarantee legal guidance for the victims and find them lawyers and legal defense in order to prosecute the actors of sexual violence

4- To establish a database of rape victims and the children born out of rape

5- Help the victims to create a platform for exchange of experiences, a platform in shelters for the women

6- To put in place a fund for compensation

7- To put in place a social fund to help the victims with income generating activities and professional training courses.  

To the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the United Nations

1- To be aware of the situation of sexual crimes and to have trained officers who have the knowledge to manage the emotions of the victims of rape.

2- To put in place a multidisciplinary policy (psychological, medical, legal, sociological) to follow up on the protection of the victims of rape that are willing to testify,
3- The United Nations agencies, such as UNFPA and UNIFEM to take measures to coordinate and provide technical support to the associations in the Great Lakes region in Africa

4- To support activities that diminish gender based inequality in the area of: education, economic participation and health care.

5- To provide health care in the countries with expertise for specific cases of sexual violence

To Governments of donor countries:

1- To demand from the countries who recognize their responsibility in the genocide of Rwanda, to compensate the victims of rape

2- To put pressure on countries who have not recognized their responsibility in the genocide of Rwanda, to pay compensation for the damages caused.

3- To create a fund for compensation of the victims, especially the women 

And so, all these authorities mentioned need to work together in synergy to guarantee effectiveness.

And for you, media professionals, my recommendation to you is to challenge the silence and to remember the women who suffer as the victims of sexual violence and rape. You too have a responsibility to give them a voice and advocate for them

I want to thank you for listening and hope that this will be followed by concrete actions for the women. Thank you.