Citation

Vidale-Plaza D, Djangala Fall MDE. Int. J. Gynaecol. Obstet. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1002/ijgo.14958

PMID

37386936

Abstract

In order to achieve a holistic ethos of care, survivors' voices and their situated knowledge must be the central focus.

Sexual violence, once considered as "normal" in the context of war, has been used widely by unarmed and armed perpetrators, in contexts such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Rwanda and Ukraine, among others.1-3 Conflict-related sexual violence is described by the United Nations (UN) as including "rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage (and) trafficking in persons when committed in situations of conflict".4 While women, men, girls and boys can all be victims of sexual violence, women and girls are disproportionately affected, as conflict exacerbates pre-existing gendered inequities and vulnerabilities.

The documented and undocumented (or under-documented) lived experiences of survivors indicate that the consequences of sexual violence in conflict are interdependent, and as individual as they are collective. These consequences range from the medical, including infertility, traumatic fistula, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, and physical disability, to the social, such as rejection from spouses, families and communities, and a loss of socio-economic opportunities.5, 6

Language: en

Keywords

care; conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV); ethics of care health; holistic care; sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); women peace and security (WPS)