They came with two guns: the consequences of sexual violence for the mental health of women in armed conflicts
This article was written by Evelyne Josse, a psychologist and psychotherapist at the Institute of Victimology in Belgium in 2010. It reviews the social, and psychological affects that sexual assault can have on its victims.
She reviews how rape (she does not specify which culture) can lead to rejection by the victim’s spouse, family, and society. The women in these conflicts are often blamed and seen as unclean. In instances of rape by the enemy of a conflict, the woman is further victimized by being viewed as an enemy sympathizer.
Rape is an extremely humiliating experience and the woman is often shamed for discussing it. If children are born, as a consequence of rape, they are often abandoned and in some instances even murdered. Some families will go as far as to commit “mercy killing” by killing the raped girl as punishment. In some communities being raped is equivalent to adultery and carries similar consequences such as stoning, floggings or prison sentences. (Josse, 182).
The individual processing of sexual assault is normally isolation and humiliation and women will often go out of their way to avoid social settings. This self-imposed isolation is like a secondary punishment because it makes it extremely difficult for the victim to function normally in regular society when forced to do so. The author also covers the psychological consequences of rape including fear, anxiety, euphoria, depression, apathy etc.
In my opinion this article is beneficial in that it details the harsh realities some women face when dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault. I believe the article would have been better if the author had identified the women she is referencing instead of simply grouping women together in one group. The failure to look at particular case studies make me question the overall validity of the article. I believe it is important to identify the cultural audience studied and include a sufficiently large sample size to improve the overall efficacy of the research.
Chelsea Cullen
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-cross/article/they-came-with-two-guns-the-consequences-of-sexual-violence-for-the-mental-health-of-women-in-armed-conflicts/F20F8409129E5DA2CAEF92A5FFC2D45A