Rape as a Weapon of Genocide

Reid-Cunningham, Alllison Ruby

doi:10.3138/gsp.3.3.279

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Sexual violence against women has commonly been systematically used during wars and genocide, with the aim of traumatizing the civilian population and the elimination of the targeted group through the desecration of individual group members [ 21 ]. Systematic rape and sexual violence have devastating effects on social, psychological, and physical health, including genital and non-genital injuries experienced by the survivors [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma and perceived social rejection among Yazidi women and girls who survived enslavement and genocide

Ibrahim

Ertl

Catani

et al. 2018

BMC Med

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BackgroundIn August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a terrorist organization, attacked the Yazidi’s ancestral homeland in northwestern Iraq. Among other atrocities, they abducted thousands of women and girls and traded many of them into sexual slavery. The aim of this study is to determine the mental health of women and girl survivors of these events in relation to enslavement and experiences with genocide-related events, as well as perceived social rejection in their community.MethodsBetween February and July 2017, trained local assessors interviewed a sample of 416 Yazidi women and girls (65 of whom had survived sexual enslavement), aged between 17 and 75 years, and living in internally displaced person camps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms were assessed using validated Kurdish versions of standard instruments. Scales for trauma exposure and perceived rejection were developed for the purpose of this study.ResultsParticipants reported a high number of traumatic events. More than 80% of girls and women, and almost all participants who were formerly enslaved, met criteria for a probable DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis. Trauma exposure and enslavement predicted poor mental health. In addition, among formerly enslaved girls and women, perceived social rejection in their community mediated the relationship between traumatic enslavement events and depression symptoms.ConclusionsIn a context of maximum adversity, enslavement and war-related events contribute to high levels of PTSD and depression. Perceived social rejection seems to play a role in the relationship between trauma exposure and mental health among abducted genocide survivors. Providing psychosocial support and treatment for Yazidi people is essential and urgently required.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12916-018-1140-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trauma and perceived social rejection among Yazidi women and girls who survived enslavement and genocide

Ibrahim

Ertl

Catani

et al. 2018

BMC Med

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“…Sexual violence against Yezidi women meant annihilating the community in its core. As Allison Ruby Reid-Cunningham argues, sexual violence “is often a cornerstone of genocidal campaigns because of its devastating effects on women, families, and communities (…) causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction,” ( 2008 : 280). In 1918, the invading Ottoman soldiers occupied the territory and continued a policy of annihilation and displacement.…”

Section: Narrations—gendered Memoriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

May I be a sacrifice for my grandchildren—transgenerational transmission and women’s narratives of the Yezidi ferman

Six-Hohenbalken

2018

Dialect Anthropol

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This paper addresses the (post)-memories of the generations of offspring of survivors of the genocidal processes in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. About 12,000 Yezidis managed to flee to Armenia and establish a diasporic community. Based on ethnographic fieldwork within this community, including interviews with members of subsequent generations, this article focuses on the narratives and experiences of women as well as gender-specific violence. The gathered empirical data makes it possible to elaborate on the hardly documented history, on its lasting effects, and on gender-specific differences in these narrations. Despite certain politics of silencing, memories of genocidal persecution were passed down from one generation to the next. The most recent case of genocidal persecution of Yezidis in Shingal (Iraq) 2014 affected the very foundations of the Yezidi community both in Armenia and the transnation—and at the same time revived their joint remembrance of the fate of their ancestors who had once sought refuge in Armenia.

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“…Sexual violence directed as a weapon against populations during armed conflict and genocide has a systemic, longterm impact on the institutions and social cohesion of a country (Reid-Cunningham 2008). There may be great variation in the form and magnitude of violence, who is targeted, and whether such violence is the result of a specific tactic and plan.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%