Focus Media (Kigali)
28 October 2009
A special center for victims of gender-based violence that opened less than a year ago, today receives three patients per day. Unfortunately, since the perpetrators often walk free, it does not seem likely that that number will be reduced soon.
Life looked bright for 16-year-old Mutesi. Fleeing the poverty of her rural village, she had come to the city where she quickly found a job as a housekeeper in an affluent family. Things went well, especially with her boss who was very kind to her and regularly gave her all sorts of gifts.
Then, one day, having come to her with another present, he raped her. It was the start of a nightmare lasting several weeks, during which she was often raped by her boss who at the same time placated her with gifts and threatened her that she would lose her job if she told anybody.
Yet Mutesi had gotten pregnant, so the truth could not be kept hidden. When the wife of the boss realized what had happened, she became enraged and chased the girl away. In desperation and shame, she fled to an aunt, but there too she was rejected her because she was pregnant.
Today, Mutesi (not her real name) has found refuge in the Isange center, the only specialized health center for victims of child, domestic and gender-based violence.
Dr. Grace Igiraneza, the coordinator of the center, explains that they offer psychological advice to traumatized patients which helps them to cope with the consequences of their experience. They are also given medication according to their needs, and those who have become pregnant following rape are given the option to have an abortion. For victims who have been infected with HIV, there is a dedicated department to provide them with antiretroviral treatment.
Victims who have nowhere to go are also offered a "safe room," where they can stay in safety to recover from their ordeal. Yet ultimately, the women have to return to society, which is why Isange's staff also tries to make sure the perpetrator of the violence is brought to book.
In Mutesi's case, a complaint against her former boss has been filed with the police, even though he has not yet been apprehended. "Rest assured, we will make sure the man is arrested and taken to court," says Alphosine Mukandinda, a clinical psychologist at the center.
Meanwhile, efforts are being made to convince Mutesi's aunt to show pity for the girl and take her in. Yet Mukandinda points out that even if that succeeds, Isange's role does not end there. When the victims return to society, the center closely monitors the victims' social welfare with the help of community policing and gender clubs at the cell level.
Stigmatization
Despite having been set up less than a year ago, Isange already receives 3 victims of gender-based violence per day. According to coordinator Igiraneza, the crime is most of the time committed by someone close to the victim.
"Many of the perpetrators are family members, and there are lots of cases of rape and physical abuse of house workers and schoolgirls," Dr Igiraneza explains. "In the vast majority of the cases, the victim depends on the perpetrator financially."
As a result, victims often remain silent and do not report the crime - which, as in Mutesi's case, then continues. Another factor preventing them from speaking out is the fear of being stigmatized and ostracized, since gender-based violence - and especially rape - is often in part blamed on the victim itself. In the end, perpetrators often go unpunished.
Isange now wants to break that cycle of impunity, considering the major impact of gender-based violence not only on the victim but also on her family and even on the entire society. There is of course the risk of infection with HIV and other sexually-transmitted diseases. The psychological and social consequences are equally devastating, because the prevailing stigma associated with sexual violence often leaves the victim isolated and increasingly vulnerable; as a result, she might experience trauma which at times goes beyond her own suffering, at great costs to her family and community.
And despite numerous and continued campaigns to raise awareness on gender-based violence, the number of victims does not seem to go down - we were not able to obtain official statistics of the reported cases of gender-based violence (a spokesman of the police refused to give them to us), but the number of victims received by Isange are a clear indication of the gravity of the problem.
Special court
Apart from the social perception of the victims, one of the main hurdles seems to be the slowness of the justice system which gives the impression that such crimes are not punished. In order to speed up the process, Isange always prepares a medical report which is used as evidence in court, even though the reports have on frequent occasions been criticized by the defendant's side as lacking in medical examinations.
Yet Isange coordinator Dr Igiraneza insists it is important for prosecutors and judges to be sensitized on the importance and urgency of solving cases related to gender-based violence since witnesses risk being harmed or discouraged by family members to pursue the case, especially when the perpetrator is a relative.
Angelique Habyarimana, the inspector in charge of sexual crime and domestic violence in the prosecutor general's office, thinks the solution might lie in the creation of a special court for cases of gender-based violence, since regular courts are already overstretched and do not have enough personnel.
She adds that her department has 12 prosecutors who, apart from dealing with cases, also conduct awareness programs around the country. This is an important part of their work, Habyarimana stresses, since the sexual violence law 59/2008 exists and provides tough punishments to perpetrators. "Most of the victims are not aware of this law, so they keep quiet and watch their attackers go free," she says.
Meanwhile, the national police in collaboration with the ministry of gender and family promotion has established a gender desk at the police headquarters with the aim of providing rapid responses to and trying to prevent gender-based violence. The desk can also be reached through an emergency telephone line (3512).
Today, MIGEPROFE is preparing a countrywide awareness campaign on gender-based violence, to be held from November 25 to December 10. It will focus on the role of local community leaders, religious leaders and women councils to improve community participation in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence.
For Mutesi, the campaign will come to late. But, in combination with the efforts at Isange, it might still save thousands of other girls and women from a life-long trauma.
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