Minors are raped, women beaten and expelled or deprived of their rights. These are some of cases of gender-based violence reported in Gitega, in the center of the country. These GBV affect the lives of many people as the victims testify.
N.A is a 13 year-old girl. Together with her mother and two brothers, she lives in a popular neighborhood called Nyamugari in Gitega province. Her life turned into a nightmare on June 27, 2018. It was 6 p.m. when her mother asked her to fetch water from a nearby stream. Halfway, a 64 year old man stopped her. He asked her to sleep with him.
After tough and vain negotiations, the man opts to use force. The girl tries to fight to prevent this man from raping her but to no avail. She was found around 3p.m near the path leading to the brook almost dead.
She was immediately taken to a neighboring health center and afterwards transferred to a center helping victims of gender based violence for health care.
The mother says her daughter’s life has changed since that time. “She’s got some weird behavior now. Sometimes she cries for no reason and tells us that she hates us all, that she would like to die to finally find peace”.
This mother of three testifies that since then, the whole family has been affected by this shocking act. “I sometimes have to cancel my activities to be with her while I am a widow and have to provide for my family “.
The girl hardly speaks. She rarely talks to her mom. She has also dropped out of school for a while because she is under antiretroviral treatment and her body is struggling to adapt to this treatment.
Domestic violence too…
H. is a young woman aged 30. She is seated in a little dark room; her forced smile reveals an uncomfortable life. In her arms, she carries a little girl of about five years old. She is crying loudly, seemingly claiming for something that her mother does not seem to give her. For any plea, the mother rebukes her.
This mother of three, used to manage a small business in a local shop until her husband banned her from doing it. “He accused me of taking advantage of my little business to cheat on him and forced me to stop it”.
H. says that since that time, her life and that of her small family have turned out to be terrible because she had nothing to eat or feed her family. “My husband gives me almost nothing to buy food. He comes home drunk at night and when I ask him for money, he threatens to kill me, “she says in tears.
The young woman does not know what to do for now. She says she is helpless and adds that her children manage to survive thanks to good Samaritans in the neighborhood. “They eat everywhere they find food.” She added that she was beaten her to death when she attempted to go against her husband’s decision. “Suddenly, I gave in to lead this miserable life.”
Heavy consequences on the entire community
Frédence Ntibashirakandi: “There are women who develop depressive behavior because of domestic violence”.
According to Frédence Ntibashirakandi, psychologist of the Platform for Psychosocial Care and Mental Health (PPSM) in Gitega, the consequences of GBV not only affect the victims of this violence, but also the whole community.
A turning in on oneself, isolation and low self-esteem are some of the consequences of rape. These can lead to suicide if the victim does not get someone to listen to her. “It’s a behavior that drives her to hate herself, her body. She does not value herself anymore “.
For her, if the victim is not assisted, she can also develop depression. “We have already received cases of people who have developed depressive behavior following case of rape that they tried to hide”.
This psychologist indicates that besides the sexual violence that many women especially minor girls suffer from, there are also women who develop depression because of domestic violence. All this affects the victims in the long run.
With the tradition that favors the “Nikozubakwa” attitude (to be submissive, to accept), women end up depressed due to the sexual, physical and economic violence they experience every day, but don’t dare to denounce that.
Many women suffer from forced sex that they don’t dare to denounce. She gives an example of a case of a woman who was always forced into sexual intercourse but did not report until the situation became worse. “She reported this act when her husband put plastic bags into her vagina after he had forced her to have sex with him.”.
Mrs. Ntibashirakandi says this kind of violence is a hindrance to the development of the family and the whole community as a whole. “A woman who suffers from domestic violence tries to appear normal but in reality she is not. Over time, she feels naughty, undervalued and eventually develops behavioral problems”.
First aid and after?
There are psychosocial care centers for listening and first aid for people who are victims of physical assaults. As psychologist, Ntibashirakandi says this is not enough. “These victims need a follow up to help them recover and be restored to their rights”.
Even though women’s rights groups are trying to collaborate with judicial bodies and medical structures, there are still challenges. “Sometimes, I receive victims who have already developed depressive disorders and who need to take medication before proceeding with psychosocial care”.
The psychologist sends them to the mental health center, but the center obliges them to pay a big sum of money. “Some fail to find the money and go back untreated”.
Ms. Ntibashirakandi also mentions the desperate need to sensitize the entire population to avoid the worst. “GBV survivors are often humiliated and marginalized by society. As a result, many do not dare to denounce their offenders to avoid criticism”.
What is GBV?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines gender-based violence (GBV) as the threat or deliberate use of physical force against oneself, against others or against a group or community that causes or threatens strongly to cause trauma, death, psychological damage or deprivation. There are physical violence, sexual violence, verbal abuse, psychological violence and economic violence.
Physical violence includes slapping or other beatings, threats with a weapon, threat of choking or death, locking up or preventing escape with brutality and other physical brutalities. Acts of sexual violence include sexual intercourse, unwanted sexual practices, sexual intercourse with other people, touching, unpleasant sexual advances, imposing pornographic images, voyeurism or exhibitionism. Verbal abuse includes insults and invectives.
Among the acts of psychological violence are facts such as attacking children, controlling ins and outs of your partner and relationships, imposing behavior, despising, devaluing, demeaning, putting away, refusing to speak, and emotional blackmail. While economic violence includes preventing access to resources and spending resources without the spouse’s consent.
IWACU Open Data
