Bibliography of Sources Relevant to SGBV

RWANDA SGBV DESK REVIEW

TYPE OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN EXISTING LITERATURE

Be referred to the list of resources at the end of this document. Prior to the 2004 MIGEPROF study, there was a dearth of information about contemporary GBV issues. Indeed, the majority of reports about GBV—including 1997 reports by Human Rights Watch and the 1999 report by the local widows association, AVEGA—focus exclusively on gender based violence that occurred during the genocide. Other contemporary studies about gender issues focus on two primary issues—reproductive health and general opinions about gender issues, such as bride price—but only include superficial analyses of gender violence (See, for example, UNFPA’s 2002 “Etude Sur Les Croyances, Les Attitudes et Les Pratiques Socio-Culturelles en Rapport Avec Le Genre Au Rwanda). However, the MIGEPROF study establishes prevalence rates of violence against women, therefore really quantifies the problem of VAW for the first time in Rwanda but it also looks at the causes of violence. The 2005 Demographic health survey report confirms prevalence rates established in 2004 by MIGEPROF. It is basically the analysis of these two documents that allow a better understanding of VAW and SGBV in Rwanda today.

SUMMARY OF SITUATION OF SGBV IN RWANDA TODAY BASED ON LITERATURE REVIEW

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Rwandan women suffer both from community[1] and domestic violence[2]. The national research on violence against women conducted by MIGEPROF[3] in 2004 revealed that 12.7% of women were victims of at least one act of physical violence (slapped, punched, kicked, etc), 13.2% were victims of psychological violence and as many as 25.2% of women were victims of sexual violence during the five years that preceded the research. 65% of perpetrators of community violence are neighbors. Perpetrators also include soldiers and paramilitaries (16,6 %) and Local Defense Forces[4] (11,2%). 51,3% of women are victims of domestic psychological violence (including being forbidden to visit family or friends, being deprived of health care and treatment, withholding of money, insults and verbal threats), 31% suffer from physical domestic violence and 8,7% are victims of domestic sexual violence. 40% of women reported suffering from domestic violence frequently (more than 3 times a year) and 36% reported being victims once or twice each year. The onset of domestic violence is very fast usually in the first years of marriage The 2005 Demographic Health Survey reveals that 17% of women reported having an injury or a broken bone as a result of domestic physical or sexual violence in the last 12 months but only 8% visited the health center or hospital.

The principal causes of domestic violence reported by women include abuse of alcoholic beverages (42,5%), control over and utilization of money (27,5%), complaints related to domestic chores (17,5%) and child care issues (15,4%). [5] Violence against women increases with the number of children in a household. There are more women victims of violence among those who have a lower level of education (33,5 % of domestic violence victims had no education) even though educated women are also victims (25,5% of victims have attended secondary school or higher).[6]

Domestic violence is considered a private matter. Nearly half of the abused women did not tell anybody (45,6%). The others confided in a female friend (30,3%), an in-law (14,5%), their own mothers (11,7%), A very small percentage (5,8%) sought assistance from the local authorities (5,8%) or the Police (0,4%). 45% of women do not trust community social services and expect no help from them. They prefer to forget (30,8%) and to pray (22.1%). If violence should recur, 71,4% would not take any measures to stop it, other than the ones already listed above[7].

VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN

In Rwanda, violence against children is a scourge. Even if more quantitative data about the different forms of violence against children is cruelly missing, Police records demonstrate the magnitude of the problem; abuse cases of children between 8 and 18 years old constituted 75% of all domestic abuse cases recorded by Rwandan Police between May and July 06[8] and many cases remain unreported. It is worth noting however that one third is abortion cases, which is another indicator of violence against women. Abortion remains prohibited in Rwanda and it is not unusual to find a rape victim behind bars because she had an abortion as a result of a becoming pregnant. The 2005 UN study on violence against children in Rwanda analyzes the different forms of violence and has categorized them as follows: Violence in family and at home, violence in schools, violence in detention facilities, violence in care or residential institutions such as orphanages, violence at work (house maids, child labor), violence in the streets (against street children). Sexual violence and exploitation is found to occur mainly around schools and especially against young girls, which makes them more susceptible to dropping out. In most cases, sexual violence leads to early marriages and early pregnancy that is rampant in some parts of Rwanda. Sadly enough, as with women, children are usually abused by those who should protect them (Care takers, teachers, employers, Local Defense Forces, orphanages’ and children centers’ personnel), with the exception of street children who also report physical and sexual violence by strangers on the streets.

41,6% of women who participated in the national survey on violence against women by MIGEPROF reported having witnessed violence against their siblings and 38,5% experienced themselves at least one act of violence as a child. Furthermore, 17,5 % suffered from sexual violence as children. 95,2% of women knew the identity of their childhood abusers (48,4% were neighbors and 13,5% were extended family members, 9,5% were a person employed in the house and 7,1% were teachers). 53,3% of women victims of domestic violence affirmed that their spouses had been abused, while 34,3% didn’t know. This shows a strong correlation between current physical and psychological violence and violence suffered during the partner’s childhood and demonstrates the need to address violence against children if one wants to stop violence against women.

SOCIO-CULTURAL CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS’ IMPACT ON VIOLENCE AND HIV-AIDS

Gender roles in Rwanda reflect the specific beliefs and expectations that many African societies assign to women, men, boys and girls on the basis of their sex. The traditional Rwandan society makes women and girls dependent on men with no access to and control over economic resources or assets. Women’s social status rests above all on their ability to procreate, as children constitute the principal source of wealth and pride. Girls are valued based on their aptitude to perform domestic work and become «model wives» and their dowry or bride price, paid to the bride’s family, is negotiated based on their ability and alleged capacity to produce children. This tradition is the main cause of early marriages in Rwanda, now amplified by HIV-AIDS. Mothers, the first role models for girls, are too often guardians of these practices and continue to perpetuate them. Analyzing the deeply rooted social characteristics of conjugal relations in Rwanda confirms the above. 67,7% of Rwandan women agree with the fact that an exemplary wife owes unconditional obedience to her husband and 63,6% agree that a woman must consent to sexual relationships with her husband even if she’s not in the mood. While 75,8% of Rwandan women think that an outsider must intervene when a man mistreats his wife, 77,8% of women also think that conjugal problems are not to be discussed outside of the family[9].

According to most Rwandan young people the role of the head of the family belongs to the father who may on occasions consult his sons but not his wife or daughters. A husband falls in his social standing if he lets his wife makes the major decisions in his stead. Based on these commonly accepted statements, one must conclude that models of male authority and female submission are still being transmitted from one generation to the next with few questions asked and few changes made.[10]

In addition to its modern legal systems, traditional ways of dealing with violence against women often contribute to its perpetuation as men are rarely condemned for their gruesome acts. In case of community violence for example, arbitration (Gacaca) is organized between the families involved. In the case of rape or abduction of a girl (guterura), the perpetrator can be forced to marry his victim and to give her a dowry. In cases of domestic violence, the woman has the option of temporarily leaving her house (Kwahukana) and demand that her in-laws deal with her husband about her mistreatment. The husband, while often recognized as guilty, has to turn a new leaf and gets away with his bad behavior by offering a gift to his wife in order to reconcile and convince her to return home (kumucyura). The woman, for her part, receives advice (impaburo) and reprimands from her mother, her aunts and her friends, who also counsel her on how to avoid conflict with her husband.

Other traditional practices that both reinforce and exacerbate violence in Rwanda include polygamy (ubushoreke or ubuharike[11]), wife inheritance (guhungura), widow cleansing (kweza), obligation to give sexual favors to the father in law (guhazanura), post-partum sex between husband and wife (kwomora), etc The tradition of bride price may also contribute to social norms that excuse violence against women, as husbands feel entitled to beat or rape their wives because they paid for them. This practice upholds the belief that women are property and can be bought and sold. Anecdotal evidence in Rwanda also suggests that young girls are pressured by impoverished families to get married in exchange for bride price. As mentioned earlier, HIV-AIDS increases early marriages as bride price for very young girls who are believed to be free of HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections increase.

In summary, key problems that contribute to violence against women and children in Rwanda are (1) the gap between the official legal protection framework for women and children and reality on the ground (2) discrimination against women and girls and gender inequalities reinforced by harmful socio-cultural norms and traditional customs (3) limited access to comprehensive services for survivors of violence (4) poor coordination between the different sectors involved in prevention, care and rehabilitation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOURCES RELEVANT TO SGBV IN RWANDA

-African Rights, “Rwanda: Death, Despair and Defiance,” August 1995. Chapter 10, “Rape and the Abduction of Women and Girls.”

-African Rights, Rwanda, broken bodies, torn spirits, living with genocide, rape and HIV-AIDS, 2004 (option given to Muhamed to order; costs 7,95 pounds)

-African Rights, Rwanda Not So Innocent. When Women Become Killers. London. 1995

-AVEGA, “Etudes Sur Les Violences Faites aux Femmes au Rwanda,” December 1999.

-de Jonge, Klaas, “Interim Report on Research on Gacaca Jurisdictions and its Preparations,” Penal Reform International, January 2002.

-Gordon, Peter and Kate Crehan, “Dying of Sadness: Gender, Sexual Violence, and the HIV Epidemic,” UNDP, 1998 (?).

-Haguruka, “La Femme Rwandaise et L’access a la Justice,” July 2001.

-Haguruka, Resultats de l'enquete sur les cas de viol et d'attentat a la pudeur commis sur les femmes et les enfants de 1995 a 2002, Novembre 2002

-Ingabire, Immaculée, “Rapport des Dialogues Communautaires sur le Droit a la Non Violence dans la Vie de Chaque Jour de la Femme Rwandaise,” Reseau deFemmes, August 2002.

-Ministry of Health, “Prise en Charge des Problemes de Sante des Femmes Victimes de Violence,” World Health Organization, February 1997.

-Ministry of Social Affairs, “Recherche sur les Conditions de des Femmes Rwandaises,” 1975.

-Newbury, Catherine and Hannah Baldwin, “Aftermath: Women in Postgenocide, Rwanda,” USAID Working Paper, July 2000.

-Nowrojee, Binaifer, “Shattered Lives: Sexual Violence During the Rwandan Genocide and its Aftermath,” Human Rights Watch, 1996.

-Le traitement des crimes contre les femmes par le Tribunal Pénal International au Rwanda, Human Rights Watch, 1996.

-Schotsmans, Martien, “Le droit à la réparation des victimes de violences sexuelles pendant le génocide: analyse de l’état actuel,” ASF, March 2000.

-SWAA, “Etude sur la Sante de la Reproduction et les Droits de la Femme Rwandaise,” December 2001.

-UNFPA, “Etudes Sur Les Croyances, Les Attitudes et Les Practiques Socio Culturelles en Rapport Avec le Genre au Rwanda,” May 2002.

-Projet de présentation des résultats de recherche sur la violence faite aux enfants de la rue au Rwanda: «cas de la ville de Kigali», Bizimana Alphonse, Mai 2005

-UN study on Violence against Children, MIGEPROF, UNICEF, 2005

-Violence contre les enfants dans le système scolaire au Rwanda, «a travers les yeux des enfants et des jeunes», Claudia Mitchell et Patrick Kanyangara, 2005

-If Not Now, When? Addressing Gender-based Violence in Refugee, Internally Displaced, and Post-conflict Settings”, Jeanne Ward, Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium (RHRC)

-LIPRODHOR, Résultats de l'enquête pilote sur les actes de viol et les violences faites aux jeunes filles et aux femmes, Kigali, February 2000;

-Situation des droits de la personne au Rwanda, rapport 2003-2004, LIPRODHOR (pages 16, 61, 118 and 119)

-Strategy for Prevention of and Response to Gender-Based Violence in Eastern, Southern and Central Africa, USAID, UNICEF, 2006

-Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, IRC, USAID Violence Against women, June 2004

-Demographic and Health survey final report with key findings and preliminary detailed findings, 2005

-Multisector analysis report, International Rescue Committee, 2004.

New information/research to be done soon in Rwanda:

-Capacity project Intrahealth: review of SGBV in the workplace;

-Twubakane Project Intrahealth: review of SGBV through PMTCT.

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS TO BE FOLLOWED BY GLAG IN RWANDA

-16 days SGBV campaign;

-Development of a national policy and strategic plan to prevent VAW and children by MIGEPROF, UNICEF, UNIFEM (Delphine in TWG);

-SGBV bill to be passed soon: important for GLAG to follow-up on this and advocate to influence content of this bill through contacts with parliamentarians.

Other general (not directly related to Rwanda) and recommended literature on SGBV:

-Global Aids Alliance, Zero tolerance, Stop the violence against Women and Children. Stop HIV-AIDS, August 1st 2006.

-In depth study on all forms of violence against women, report to the Secretary general, United Nations, 2006

-Our Bodies - Their Battle Ground: Gender-based Violence in Conflict Zones, IRIN Web Special on violence against women and girls during and after conflict, 2006 (no info about Rwanda but very interesting info on GBV in general, particularly in conflict an war zones, some info about DRC and Burundi)

-Guidelines for gender-based violence interventions in humanitarian settings, Inter Agency Standing Committee, September 2005

Delphine Pinault

Health & OVC Advisor

CARE International in Rwanda

[1] Community violence is defined as any physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a person who is not part of the victim’s immediate family or that of her partner/husband.

[2] Domestic violence is defined as acts of violence inflicted on a woman by her spouse or partner and includes as well psychological/emotional, physical and sexual violence.

[3] Ministry in Charge of Gender, Child Protection and Family Promotion

[4] Local Defense Force is a security force constituted of volunteers, supervised by the Police.

[5]National Research on Violence Against Women, MIGEPROF, USAID, 2004.

[6] DHS, 2005

[7] National Research on Violence Against Women, MIGEPROF, USAID, 2004.

[8]National Police Records, October 2006

[9] National Research on Violence Against Women, MIGEPROF, USAID, 2004.

[10] Ibid.

[11]Permanent unlawful relationship between a man and a woman when one of them or both are lawfully married with someone else