Medica Zenica and medica mondiale conducted a study with 51 survivors of war rape and sexual violence from Bosnia and Herzegovina who had used Medica’s services during and after the war.
The study followed four main research questions focussing on
1) the consequences of war rape and sexual violence on survivors’ lives, health and relationships;
2) the social acknowledgement of survivors of war rape;
3) the coping strategies and sources of resilience in the past 20 years, and finally
4) the impact of Medica Zenica’s support on the survivors’ lives.
The findings call for special attention: more than 20 years after the war, the psychological and health situation of most survivors of war rape remains extremely alarming.
57% of participants are suffering from clinically relevant PTSD symptoms. Their general psychological distress is high and many show psychosomatic problems and anxiety symptoms. 70% of the participants state that the rape experience completely affects their life today.
Their relationships with their families, especially husbands and children, are highly affected. We found clear indications of transgenerational transmission of trauma in the sense that particular patterns of relationships are created around trauma dynamics.
Despite the unique status as civilian victim of war, which 79% of the women in our sample have obtained, the participants overwhelmingly agree that governmental, cantonal and entity institutions in BiH do nothing for survivors. Essential support is perceived as only being provided by NGOs.
Recommendations of the study centre around support programmes for survivors in general, whereby long-term funding for holistic support programmes and networks are recommended as well as strengthening the cooperation between and the role of NGOs. Another set of recommendations focuses on the need for specialised psychosocial and counselling programmes and trauma-sensitivity in all professional domains of life.
It is clear from the research that survivors and their husbands / partners and children need ongoing and tailored support and sensitivity in public institutions, particularly in the health sector. Also, substantial amendments and improvements are suggested with regard to the status of civilian victim of war, a significant improvement regarding the protection of survivors when giving their testimonies in national courts, and an ongoing prosecution of perpetrators. A last set of recommendations concerns the social acknowledgement of survivors in local communities and the over-all Bosnia and Herzegovina society in order to counteract the discourse of victimisation and stigmatisation and develop a discourse of survival.