Nancy Farwell
University of Washington, School of Social work
USA

Silent pain: rebuilding community among Eritrean survivors of war rape

Dolor silenciado: reconstruyendo la comunidad, entre sobrevivientes Eritreanos de violación en tiempo de guerra

The two and one-half year war between Ethiopia and Eritrea has resulted in the displacement of approximately one-third of Eritrea's population, the destruction of villages and towns, and widespread sexual violence.

Hundreds of Eritrean women were raped by Ethiopian soldiers. While these violations of basic human rights are beginning to be documented, many of the women carry their pain in silence. Reluctant to come forward due to shame, fear of losing their families, and fear of isolation, they suffer health risks including psychological and physical trauma, unwanted pregnancies, and exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Rape as a weapon of war not only affects the individual, it erodes the fabric of a community in a way that few weapons can, shattering the core identities of women who are viewed as embodying the cultural and spiritual values of a community. (UNICEF (1996). The State of The World's Children: Sexual violence as a weapon of war. Retrieved September 26, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://www.unicef.org/sowc96pk/sexviol.htm ).

In this paper, we discuss some of the challenges inherent in assessing the needs of Eritrean women who are victims of war-related sexual violence. Preliminary information gathered by the National Union of Eritrean Women indicates the need for assistance in various areas such as assessment of psychological and physical distress, psychosocial recovery and reintegration, economic assistance, and support to children and other family members traumatized by the rape of their mothers. Due to the scale of need, availability of resources, cultural fit, and the devastating consequences of rape on families and communities, psychosocial interventions at the community level are indicated. These build on the resilience and strengthen the healing capacities of communities during the post-crisis process of recovery and reintegration. Specific areas for strengthening community resources to address the devastating consequences of the rape as well as the violation and pain suffered by entire families are presented.