Darfuri women who have fled as refugees to Chad live in fear of being raped and as a result ostracized by their families, says a new study.
The study, based on interviews with 88 women in Farchana Camp in eastern Chad, found that 17 of the women had been raped, some more than once. Researchers said they believed another 12 women had probably suffered rape, although they were often reluctant to speak about it or were unconscious when it had happened.
The study was carried out by Physicians for Human Rights in partnership with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. The results were published on Sunday.
“War crimes of killings, destruction of livelihoods and forced expulsion from Darfur have… left [women] in a state of perpetual vulnerability and need for the most basic elements of human survival,” the study added. Although what had happened in Darfur “persists as a terrible memory,” the women had not found safety in Chad.
Compelled to leave the camp to collect fuel so they could cook, they ran the risk of rape in doing do. “What most concerns the women interviewed… is the oppressive environment of insecurity they must endure on a daily basis,” the study said.
“The cumulative emotional experience of previous attacks is now combined with the impact of current insecurity and ongoing fear of new assaults.
“Women express lack of trust in camp leadership, a sense of being trapped in a place that is not safe, and fear of speaking out lest they risk retaliation. This heavy psychological burden shows up in the high levels of depression and anxiety expressed in interviews and may explain their described deterioration in general health and constrained use of other services.
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“The study revealed a general innate feeling of hopelessness in living under current camp conditions… In addition, the stigma of having been raped will likely have significant discriminatory effects for the women and their families and consequently exacerbate and prolong their psychological symptoms and disabilities in part because disclosure is so taboo.”
The sponsors of the study said it was made as part of an effort to conduct a systematic assessment of sexual assault and other violations suffered by Darfuri women during attacks in Darfur and their subsequent flight to camps near the border between Sudan and Chad.
Physicians for Human Rights made a series of recommendations to address the needs of rape survivors:
- the prosecution of rape as a war crime;
- more protection for refugees in Chad, including patrols to protect women collecting firewood;
- legal reforms in Chad to provide better protection against sexual violence; and
- better psycho-social support for survivors.
