"MARKED FOR DEATH": RAPE SURVIVORS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS IN RWANDA

May 6, 2004 – (Amensty International) Between April and June of 1994, Rwandans suffered 100 days of violence and genocide that targeted ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the country. Ten years later, victims of that 100 days of violence still suffer. Responses by the Rwandan government and by the international community have been inadequate. This is especially true for those in the need of medical care and those still seeking justice. Bringing to justice those responsible has been an enormous challenge and progress has been slow. For women who were raped and tortured, or whose family members were killed, justice and redress remain elusive.

Violence against women and girls constituted a well-documented and tragically widespread component of the genocide and war strategy in 1994. During the genocide women and girls, predominantly but not exclusively Tutsi, suffered extraordinary acts of violence. Many were raped at barriers erected by the interahamwe youth militia and/or held as sexual captives in exchange for temporary protection from interahamwe militia and the military. Their bodies and spirits were mutilated, humiliated and scarred. The Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) was likewise responsible for sexual and other violence during its military advance, sometimes in reprisal against the Hutu population. The extent and nature of these crimes is less well-known, and very few of the suspected perpetrators have been brought to justice.

In the 1998 Akayesu judgment at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), based on individual testimonies regarding the stated intent of the perpetrators and the investigation of sexual violence occurring in a widespread fashion across the country, prosecutors successfully demonstrated that genocidal intent motivated extensive sexual violence during the genocide.

It is important to note, however, that the phenomenon of rape neither began nor ended in 1994. Sexual violence and forced marriage continue to be perpetrated by members of the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF), security forces and unpaid militias. Gender-based violence has been a persistent feature of the human rights violations committed by Rwandan security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in the post-war insurgencies in Rwanda. These assaults are sometimes reported but seldom prosecuted. The low status of women and girls in society and their limited access to justice makes it difficult to seek redress and increases women and girls' vulnerability to sexual violence.

Medical care also continues to be a struggle, as women suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS and related diseases, much of which is a result of rape during the armed conflict. Though not all cases of HIV/AIDS among rape survivors resulted from violence experienced during the 1994 genocide, the mass rapes that occurred during that time greatly increased the transmission of the virus in Rwanda. Rape survivors who contracted HIV/AIDS continue to experience further human rights violations: they and their families often face severe social stigma, which has led to loss of employment, difficulty in asserting property rights, and a loss of civil and political rights.

It is in this context, on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and war and as part of its Campaign Stop Violence Against Women, Amnesty International is appealing to the Rwandan government and international community to expand access to healthcare and justice for survivors of rape and their families.

ACT NOW